(Photo Credit : Reuters)
1 / 10France Moves: France has announced it will phase out Microsoft Teams and Zoom across government departments and replace them with Visio, a domestically developed video-conferencing platform. The rollout is scheduled for completion by 2027 after a year of testing, with about 40,000 users already onboard. Officials say the shift aims to cut reliance on foreign providers and secure sensitive state communications data.
(Photo Credit : Reuters)
2 / 10Sovereign Suite: Visio forms part of Suite Numérique, France’s broader plan to build a sovereign digital ecosystem for civil servants. The tools are designed to replace services such as Gmail and Slack and are restricted to government use, not public or private firms. Paris frames the effort as a move to regain control over infrastructure and strategic digital capabilities.
3 / 10Germany Retreats: Germany is pursuing a selective withdrawal from US technology in sensitive public administration areas. In June 2025, the state of Schleswig-Holstein said it would remove Microsoft software from government systems. Authorities are phasing out Teams, Word, Excel and Outlook, and switching to open-source alternatives including LibreOffice and the Linux operating system.
4 / 10Industry Backing: The push for digital autonomy is also reflected in corporate moves. Schwarz Digits announced an €11 billion investment in a major data centre in Brandenburg. SAP has partnered with France’s Mistral AI to develop sovereign artificial intelligence solutions for Europe, aligning private sector expansion with government calls for regionally controlled digital infrastructure.
5 / 10Dutch Debate: In March 2025, the Dutch parliament passed motions urging a reduction in reliance on US software companies. Lawmakers proposed exploring a national sovereign cloud and reassessing the use of US-based cloud services in public infrastructure. Cybersecurity and autonomy risks were cited, alongside concerns about strategic dependence on providers such as Amazon Web Services.
(Photo Credit : Generated image)
6 / 10Legal Exposure: Dutch officials also flagged unease over the reach of US laws, including the CLOUD Act, which could compel access to data stored by American firms. The debate reflects wider geopolitical uncertainty and fears that foreign legal frameworks could affect European public sector information systems, limiting national control during diplomatic or security disputes.
7 / 10Denmark Shifts: Denmark began moving key government agencies away from US software during 2025. Authorities are replacing Microsoft Office with LibreOffice and Linux, emphasising locally manageable open-source systems. The transition gained pace amid EU-wide debates over sovereignty and security, with Danish officials arguing that open technologies provide stronger data control and resilience in public digital infrastructure.
8 / 10Sweden Cautious: Sweden is testing secure domestic and European cloud options for certain public sector uses but has not announced a full break from US providers. More than 90 percent of publicly listed Swedish companies rely on US technology stacks. Policymakers report rising concern, yet current efforts focus on expanding European alternatives rather than immediate disengagement.
(Photo Credit : Generated image)
9 / 10EU Reckoning: At the European Union level, officials are reassessing dependence on foreign technology across cloud and satellite services. US firms such as AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud control about 70 percent of Europe’s cloud market, while Starlink dominates satellite communications. Proposed cybersecurity rules could require telecom operators to phase out vendors deemed high risk.
(Photo Credit : Reuters)
10 / 10European Stack: EU leaders are backing the concept of a European-led digital stack covering artificial intelligence, cloud computing, software and hardware to anchor critical infrastructure within the region. The nonprofit EuroStack initiative supports this transition. Its founder, economist Cristina Caffarra, has described Europe as a “digital colony” of US firms and urged redirecting capital toward domestic innovation.
