Enterprise sovereignty isn’t a product. It’s the ability to walk away

On June 3, 2026, the European Commission unveiled its European Technological Sovereignty Package in Brussels. Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen did not mince her words when introducing the new measures. “We cannot afford to depend on others for the technologies that keep our hospitals running, our energy grids stable and our services secure,” she said. “This is about protecting our citizens, defending our interests and making our own choices.” The rhetoric was stark, but so were the numbers behind it: the EU now relies on suppliers outside its borders for more than 80% of its key digital products, services, infrastructure, and intellectual property. The package is a genuine shift, both in what it introduces—including a new Chips Act, a Cloud and AI Development Act, and a full Open Source Strategy—and in the level at which it treats the problem, casting digital dependence as a question of strategic security and self-determination rather than something that can be left to procurement teams. But this logic doesn’t stop at national borders. The same dependence reproduces itself anywhere an organization runs on technology it does not own and cannot readily leave; a company built on infrastructure, models, and platforms it has no way to exit is in much the same position as a continent that is reliant on foreign suppliers, only at a smaller scale. Which raises the real question: If this sort of dependence is a strategic risk that can threaten even a continental-scale political union, why are so many companies doing so little to protect their own sovereignty? {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/10\/creator-faisalhoque.png","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/10\/faisal-hoque.png","eyebrow":"","headline":"Ready to thrive at the intersection of business, technology, and humanity? ","dek":"Faisal