European strategic autonomy and the challenge of new green and digital technologies

The project, carried out from September 2025 to August 2026 with the support of the Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo and Fondazione Centro Studi sul Federalismo, examines the main challenges facing the European Union vis-à-vis growing geopolitical competition in the field of technology and identifies the most effective strategies and policies to ensure greater autonomy for the EU itself. The aim is to contribute to building a more cohesive and resilient Europe at a critical moment for the Union’s future, given Russia’s war against Ukraine, persistent instability in the Middle East, Trump’s return to the White House and the alliance between the new administration and Big Tech. The project will focus on identifying and analysing the risk factors arising from technological developments in the field of ecological transition and digitalisation in the face of growing multipolar competition, and on developing effective policy responses by EU institutions and member states.

The following areas will be analysed: technological competition in the field of semiconductors; policies to reduce technological dependencies in the framework of the energy transition; the development of the European defence industry in the context of growing technological competition; regulation of the digital sector; trade policy in the energy and digital fields; combating disinformation; the evolution of EU governance for technological competitiveness. The various strands will converge in a reflection on European strategic autonomy.

Funding: Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione Centro Studi sul Federalismo