European Network for Technological Resilience and Sovereignty (ETRS) to strengthen Europe’s Digital Future

Marking a decisive step toward European digital sovereignty, the initiative is led by founding members the Bertelsmann Stiftung (Germany), the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) (Belgium), the AI & Society Institute (France), and the Polish Economic Institute (PEI). Together, they aim to strengthen Europe’s technological resilience and sovereignty in an era of rapid digital transformation and growing global dependencies.

Europe currently relies on the United States and China for more than 80 percent of its critical digital technologies, ranging from cloud computing and artificial intelligence to semiconductors. These dependencies jeopardize not only the continent’s economic competitiveness, but also its strategic autonomy and democratic values.

"Europe has heard the wake-up call, but greater coordination, research, and evidence-based policymaking are needed, a true knowledge engine. At the same time, this is about more than technology or economics. It affects us all and the question of what kind of society we want to live in. With this initiative we want to inspire hope and support fresh ideas that strengthen Europe’s capacity to act with confidence in the digital age," says Martin Hullin, Director Network for Technological Resilience and Sovereignty at Europe’s Future Program, Bertelsmann Stiftung, and one of the network’s initiators.

"ETRS will serve as the knowledge pool and connective tissue linking Europe’s research expertise across academia, civil society, public institutions & industry, by turning fragmented efforts into a shared vision for technological resilience and social and responsible progress," adds Constance de Leusse, Executive Director of the AI and Society Institute. In a time when Europe’s lack of agency in the digital realm has become a defining issue for its competitiveness, security, and democracy, the ETRS provides a neutral, pan-European platform to strengthen the continent’s ability and resolves to actively shape the global digital sphere. 

ETRS brings together leading research institutions, policymakers, and industry experts to facilitate knowledge exchange, conduct strategic analyses of technology dependencies, and identify practical, evidence-based solutions. By promoting policy advocacy for a European values-driven, open, and resilient digital infrastructure, the network seeks to turn growing political momentum around technological sovereignty into coordinated, actionable strategies that help Europe remain innovative, secure, and globally competitive.

The network’s mission is anchored in three core objectives: fostering stakeholder coordination and knowledge sharing through regular dialogues and joint initiatives; conducting strategic mapping of technology dependencies and developing metrics for tracking progress on the way to tech sovereignty and resilience; and advancing policy frameworks that support a sovereign and competitive European tech landscape that underpins democracy. Beginning in 2026, ETRS will launch a series of strategic initiatives to translate this mission into action, including expert workshops bridging policy and industry, and the creation of an international pool of experts dedicated to Europe’s technological sovereignty.

"ETRS is a crucial step toward actively shaping Europe’s technological future collaboratively, in an evidence-based manner, and in service of society. It is important that we deepen our situational awareness through data-driven analysis of Europe’s dependencies and vulnerabilities, as well as options and priorities for strengthening sovereignty and security without sacrificing competitiveness," says Andrea Renda, Director of Research at CEPS. 

In addition to the four founding members, today we welcome more than a dozen inaugural members. As Maciej Sobolewski, Director of the Polish Economic Institute says: “Europe is stronger together when it turns research insights into actionable strategies that strengthen its digital resilience. ETRS invites think tanks, research institutions, and independent experts across Europe to join the network and, through robust research, contribute to shaping a resilient digital future and strengthening Europe’s technological autonomy."

For more information or to submit an expression of interest to join the network, visit www.etrs.network. 

Several inaugural members of the ETRS Network have prepared a concrete input for the Summit on European Digital Sovereignty in the form of a policy toolkit, one of the outcomes of a Franco-German Dialogue on Technological Resilience and Sovereignty that took place on 28 October, 2025. It can be found here.

Watch the livestream of the announcement event of the ETRS Network today at 15:00 CET via this zoom-link.