Europe needs a digital Airbus project

This is a translation of an opinion piece named “Europa behöver ett digitalt Airbusprojekt“, written by Johan Chistenson, first published in Swedish, on Dagens Industri Debatt, on 18 March 2025.

The 1970s saw the birth of Europe’s response to US dominance in the aviation industry. By joining forces in an unprecedented industrial co-operation, they succeeded in transforming the European aerospace sector and changing the balance of power in commercial aviation forever. Today, 50 years later, Airbus stands as a towering testament to the great things that collective political will and co-operation can achieve.

Europe’s big challenge, digitalisation, is facing the same inability to compete as the aviation industry of the past. Add to this major geopolitical shifts, wars and farcical games that together jeopardise the digital future of 500 million Europeans.

At a time when digital governs every aspect of our lives, from the food we eat to the security and democracy we enjoy. At a time when we have put the responsibility for all things digital in the hands of a few tech giants. At a time when the leaders of the so-called free world can snap their fingers and force the world’s largest search engine to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico. It is at such a time that we need a digital Airbus project to make Europe self-sufficient in digital services. It is not only crucial but necessary for Europe’s long-term competitiveness, sovereignty, security and in the longer term – our democracy.

In 2008, the European and US economies were equal in size; today the US economy is about 50% larger. These years have seen rapid digitalisation, with US tech companies being a major contributor to growth. They own the digital platforms that are the foundation of all innovation, not only in the US but also in Europe.

We often talk about the opportunities of digitalisation and how apps, AI, and other digital solutions are transforming societies. But without digital platforms, these revolutions cannot happen. Digital platforms are the foundation for streaming, communication, e-commerce, banking, public services and defence.

In Sweden, we celebrate our outstanding digital innovations. But if they are built on American platforms, can we really call them Swedish? If our data protection laws are undermined by US laws that give US authorities access to data on US platforms, do we have control over our innovation? And how confident can we be that these digital services will always be available, regardless of who is in charge in the White House?

The deteriorating relationship between Europe and the US has led both Denmark’s and Norway’s counterparts to The Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection, IMY, to recommend companies to have a Plan B. A strategy to be able to operate without being dependent on US digital platforms. It’s a far-sighted move that also exposes Europe’s deep digital crisis.

There is no quick fix, but if we do not act, Europe’s competitiveness will continue to weaken. We will see higher unemployment, worse living conditions and a high risk of anti-democratic influence.

That is why we need a joint European initiative to build our own digital platforms – a digital Airbus project. This requires co-operation between politics and business, co-financing and a clear objective that all developments must be commercially viable in the long term.

All the digital platforms developed in the project must be able to communicate with each other. Just as a text message can be sent to any network provider, users should be able to have a video conference between different systems. This is a stark contrast to today’s American solutions, whose business concept is based on lock-in to one company.

For the foreseeable future, Europe still has the expertise needed to develop competitive digital platforms and there is still interest in investing in European technology. We now need to channel this expertise and capital into European platforms. This is why, as part of the project, we need a clear regulatory framework to ensure that every government Euro spent on digital innovation is commercially viable. And we will promote European platforms in all contexts.

Finally, one of the foundations of the project will be that all developments are based on open source code. This allows for reuse, more efficient use of resources and wider integration of data – crucial factors for the rise of AI as well as all digital services.

Europe is at a crossroads. We can either continue to rely on US tech giants and thus the current regime in the White House – a choice that risks our economic competitiveness and security. Or we can build powerful European digital platforms that promote both competitiveness and security in the region, creating jobs and businesses.

Johan Christenson, tech entrepreneur, founder of Cleura and Chief Technology Officer at Iver