How the EU is Using Technology Standards as a Protectionists Tool in Its Quest for Cybersovereignty

Europe’s statements about working with the United States (and other like-minded countries) on the technical standards involved in new and emerging technologies don’t match its actions, which seek to exclude experts from foreign firms that have for years played a constructive role in European standards setting.

This nationalist turn thereby paves the way for Europe to create a new protectionist pillar in its drive for cyber sovereignty: standards that deliberately disadvantage foreign firms and products to favor local ones. In the process, the restrictions drive a wedge between the United States and the European Union at a time when the two need to deepen cooperation to address China’s innovation mercantilist drive for global technology leadership.