In a speech at the WeSec security conference, Bank of Italy Deputy Governor Gian Luca Trequattrini argued that Europe should strengthen digital sovereignty by developing capacity in strategic technologies while maintaining diversified, flexible access to critical suppliers. He framed autonomy as the ability to manage dependencies and switch providers, rather than pursuing technological self-sufficiency, and identified the digital euro as a public, pan-European infrastructure that could reduce reliance on non-European payment networks and technology providers. Trequattrini said regulation must be matched by industrial capacity, skilled workers and private capital. He pointed to the Digital Operational Resilience Act’s oversight of critical information and communications technology providers and the European Union’s technology sovereignty package, while warning that Europe’s investment and financing ecosystem remains weaker than those of its main competitors. Private artificial intelligence investment totaled USD 20 billion in Europe from 2013 to 2023, compared with USD 330 billion in the United States and USD 100 billion in China, while three U.S. providers control about 70% of the European cloud market. InvestAI’s planned EUR 200 billion mobilization can expand European computing capacity, but dependence on foreign advanced processors and limited venture capital mean it cannot by itself deliver technological autonomy.
2026-09-23Bank of Italy
Bank of Italy Deputy Governor Gian Luca Trequattrini calls for investment, regulation and a digital euro to strengthen European digital sovereignty
Bank of Italy Deputy Governor Gian Luca Trequattrini called for European investment, regulation and industrial capacity to reduce critical technology dependencies. He presented the digital euro as public infrastructure that could limit reliance on non-European payment providers, while warning that funding, skills and foreign dominance of cloud and advanced processors remain major constraints.