Europe risks relinquishing control over the digital backbone of its economy and security, according to Miguel De Bruycker, head of Belgium’s Centre for Cybersecurity (CCB), who stated on Wednesday that the continent has effectively “lost the internet”. De Bruycker’s comments — made at a cybersecurity forum in Brussels — underline deep structural weaknesses in Europe’s digital infrastructure, particularly its reliance on cloud services and platforms dominated by US technology companies.
“We have lost the internet — not in the literal sense, but in our ability to govern, secure and shape a digital ecosystem that is sovereign, resilient and competitive,” De Bruycker said in prepared remarks. He stressed that European law enforcement and critical services increasingly depend on systems designed and controlled outside the EU, limiting strategic autonomy and exposing the bloc to geopolitical and cybersecurity risks.
Dependence on US tech firms imperils autonomy
De Bruycker’s warning reflects longstanding concerns among European policymakers about the dominance of US cloud and digital infrastructure providers, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. According to EU data, these firms together hold a commanding share of the European cloud market, while European providers account for only a fraction of capacity — a situation that, critics contend, leaves the bloc vulnerable to external legal and operational pressures.
The legal landscape exacerbates this imbalance. US legislation such as the Cloud Act and FISA 702 can obligate American companies to produce data held on servers anywhere in the world, meaning that even data stored physically in the EU may fall under foreign legal jurisdiction. European leaders have long sought to address this extraterritorial reach, but progress has been slow and uneven.
De Bruycker noted that this dependency extends beyond storage and compute capacity to encompass analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) tools and communications platforms — areas increasingly integral to modern governance, law enforcement and economic competitiveness. “We cannot effectively defend our networks if we do not control the foundations of our digital society,” he said.
Cyber threats and geopolitical tensions
Belgium, home to both the European Union and NATO headquarters, has been a particular target for cyberattacks, according to De Bruycker. Many of these incursions, which have included denial-of-service attacks and probe campaigns, have been attributed by Western intelligence to pro-Russian hacker groups reacting to political decisions or statements. While most of these attacks have been disruptive rather than destructive, they highlight the stakes of inadequate digital defences at a time of rising geopolitical tension.
European law enforcement agencies also face hurdles in dealing with transnational crime and digital evidence. Europol and national police forces have repeatedly called on technology companies to improve cooperation on issues such as encrypted communications — a point of friction that illustrates the broader challenge of regulating platforms that operate globally but are subject to multiple, often conflicting, legal regimes.
Regulatory tension: innovation vs security
De Bruycker criticised elements of the EU’s regulatory approach, including the proposed AI Act and other digital legislation, for potentially stifling innovation and investment without adequately addressing underlying structural deficits. He argued that Europe’s internal market and regulatory strength must be matched by commensurate investments in indigenous capacity and strategic infrastructure.
Brussels has taken steps towards reducing reliance on foreign platforms, including the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which imposes new obligations on so-called “gatekeeper” companies and is widely seen as targeting dominant US platforms. Nonetheless, as regulatory measures mount, industry insiders warn that compliance requirements alone will not create competitive alternatives unless paired with significant investment in European cloud, AI, semiconductor and networking capabilities.
Proposals such as EuroStack — a plan to build a European digital stack designed to lessen dependence on external technology providers — have been gaining traction among policymakers and industry groups. Backers argue that without a concerted effort to develop home-grown infrastructure, Europe’s digital sovereignty will remain aspirational rather than achievable.
Looking ahead: bridging the digital divide
De Bruycker stopped short of predicting an imminent crisis, but his alarm highlights the urgency of the debate over technological sovereignty in the EU. He called for a “European Airbus-style” initiative for digital infrastructure — a reference to the 1970s aerospace consortium that transformed Europe’s aviation industry — to unify resources and scale up capabilities in cloud, AI and cybersecurity.
As Europe grapples with the twin pressures of geopolitical rivalry and rapid technological change, the question of who controls the digital architecture of tomorrow has moved from abstract policy discussion to a core strategic priority. For Brussels and member states alike, the challenge now is to translate ambitious rhetoric on digital autonomy into tangible capacity — before the internet slips further beyond Europe’s grasp.
