When I speak with customers—CEOs, CIOs, and decision-makers from the public sector or critical industries—I keep hearing the same questions: How can we use AI securely? Where is our data stored? Who operates the infrastructure? How do we scale from a promising use case to industrial deployment? And above all: can we really do this here—reliably, competitively, and with full sovereignty? That’s exactly what matters now.
The expert commission “Competition and Artificial Intelligence”, appointed by Minister for Economic Affairs Katherina Reiche—and of which I was a member—has presented its final report after six months, including 20 clear recommendations. One thing became clear very quickly: without decisive action, Germany and Europe will fall behind in the global AI race.
It’s important to understand: AI is not just software. It needs data. It needs cloud. It needs compute power. It needs energy. It needs security. And it needs business models that work in the real world.
That’s why the central message of our commission is this: Europe needs a sovereign AI base infrastructure—built on data centers, cloud technologies, high-performance compute, competitive energy prices, and clear regulatory frameworks. It may sound technical, but in reality, it’s a strategic issue that will determine our long-term competitiveness.
Because those who shape AI today are shaping the next level of productivity—speed in R&D, resilience in supply chains, automation across production, logistics, administration, and customer service, and the ability to turn data into real business value.
This is where Europe has a real opportunity. We may not have built the world’s largest consumer platforms, but we have industrial strength. We have deep domain expertise. We have manufacturing, automotive, life sciences, energy, public infrastructure, defense, logistics, and a strong SME sector. And we have data—not floating somewhere on the Internet, but embedded deep within processes, systems, products, and customer relationships. That is our asset. That is our unique strength.
We also need to clarify the concept of digital sovereignty. It doesn’t mean doing everything alone. It doesn’t mean putting technology behind national borders. It means freedom of choice. Control. Transparency. Security. And the ability to shape critical digital value creation independently.
For companies, this means being able to decide where their data is processed, which cloud they use, which models they deploy, which regulatory requirements apply, and how they turn pilot projects into stable, industrial-scale applications.
For governments, it means more than providing funding. They must also act as users—anchor customers, buyers, and reference clients. When public institutions adopt European AI infrastructure, they create a reference market. And that reference market is key to driving private-sector demand.
Globally, major AI projects don’t emerge where sovereignty is debated the most. They emerge where demand is visible, regulation is reliable, and customers have trust. Marketing slogans don’t build AI factories. Demand does.
Europe needs a sovereign AI base infrastructure—built on data centers, cloud technologies, high-performance compute, competitive energy prices, and clear regulatory frameworks.This is a strategic issue that will determine our long-term competitiveness.
CEO of T-Systems and Member of the Board of Management at Deutsche Telekom
Europe has high standards—and that’s a good thing. Data protection, security, fairness, and transparency all matter. But we need to be honest: the current regulatory momentum risks undermining exactly what we are trying to achieve.
The AI Act, Cyber Resilience Act, Data Act, Digital Markets Act, and other initiatives are creating uncertainty at a time when we actually need speed. Especially in the B2B space, we must clearly distinguish: which regulations protect competition—and which primarily add complexity? This is not about less responsibility; it’s about better regulation.
Anyone investing in fiber, 5G/6G, cloud, data centers, or AI factories needs stable and reliable conditions. No one invests billions in an environment of uncertainty. And no SME will bring AI into production quickly if approvals, data protection issues, funding rules, and compliance requirements take longer than the technology itself to develop.
Europe doesn’t need a race for the thickest rulebooks. It needs a race for the best applications.
One point is especially important to me: physical infrastructure alone does not create sovereignty. Data centers matter. GPUs matter. Cloud matters. But in the end, customers don’t buy infrastructure—they buy speed, security, scalability, and business value.
That’s why we need a strong software and service layer: open interfaces, standardized platforms, industry-specific solutions, simple usage models, and access for enterprises, SMEs, startups, research institutions, and the public sector.
This is exactly the approach we are taking with our Industrial AI Cloud in Munich. It shows that Europe can deliver AI cloud at the highest level—secure, sovereign, scalable, and fully aligned with European regulations. Not as a pure GPU farm, but as a complete technology stack: connectivity, cloud, compute, security, platforms, software, and business applications. Or simply put: AI ready to use—for large enterprises and SMEs alike, made in Germany.
For customers, the real question is: can I simulate faster? Optimize my production? Scale digital twins? Shorten engineering cycles? Use my data without losing control? Turn a proof of concept into a productive operation? These are the questions that matter at the board level.
Many AI discussions focus too much on models: who has the biggest model, the most parameters, the fastest training.
But the next wave of AI won’t be decided by models alone. It will be decided by how they are applied—by combining models with industrial data, processes, and domain-specific expertise. That’s exactly where Europe’s strength lies.
In manufacturing, it’s about predictive maintenance, quality control, autonomous production processes, simulations, and digital twins. In healthcare, it’s about secure data spaces, research, diagnostics, and more efficient care. In the public sector, it’s about better services for citizens. In defense, it’s about secure, resilient, and sovereign digital capabilities.
These applications don’t emerge in isolation. They are built in ecosystems—companies, technology partners, research institutions, governments, and startups. Everyone contributes their strengths. And in the end, what matters is whether the customer sees real value.
The insights are clear. The challenges are known. Now it’s time to act—decisively and together. Only then can we shape the future of AI according to our own values and rules, and secure our competitiveness in the long term.
I am convinced: Europe can compete in the global AI race. But not if we focus only on risks. Not if we confuse regulation with strategy. And not if we assume others will build our digital infrastructure for us. We need to take the lead ourselves.
With the Industrial AI Cloud, we at T-Systems have shown that it’s possible. We can deliver AI and cloud infrastructure at the highest level in Europe—secure, sovereign, scalable, and with a clear focus on industrial use cases and real business value.
And we demonstrate this with the T Cloud as well: European cloud offerings can compete with major hyperscalers in both performance and price, while delivering what matters most to many organizations today: trust, transparency, data protection, and operations within Europe.
Now we need to continue on this path—together with customers, partners, policymakers, researchers, and industry. Because digital sovereignty doesn’t come from announcements. It comes from real-world use. From investment. From demand. From courage. And from execution.
