DIGITALEUROPE Director General Discusses EU–US Tech Cooperation with Foreign Policy

DIGITALEUROPE Director-General Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl spoke with Rishi Iyengar of Foreign Policy for its Hot Mic newsletter about the future of transatlantic technology cooperation and Europe’s ambitions to strengthen its global competitiveness.

The conversation explored how Europe and the United States can build on their complementary strengths to accelerate investment, scale innovation and strengthen cooperation on critical technologies, including AI, cybersecurity and defence. Cecilia highlighted the importance of turning transatlantic partnerships into concrete opportunities for businesses, connecting European innovation with American investment and helping technology companies grow on both sides of the Atlantic.

Read the interview in Foreign Policy‘s Hot Mic newsletter

Hot Mic

Despite what many in the Trump administration say and think, Europe has much to offer the world in terms of advanced technology and needs to be more vocal about it, Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl told SitRep in an interview this week. Bonefeld-Dahl is the director-general of DIGITALEUROPE, an industry group that represents more than 56,000 companies across the continent.

“Many people think that the U.S does all the technology and that Europe does not really have anything, which is actually not true if you look at some of the technologies,” she said, highlighting 6G telecommunications, drones, and semiconductor machinery as some areas where Europe leads. While much of the focus in Washington is on frontier artificial intelligence models, “if you don’t have a data center, you don’t have it working,” she said. “You need the energy, you need the connectivity, you need the water cooling, you need the machines to do all the chips—so if you look at the stack already now, at least 25 percent is European, unless it’s Chinese.”

Bonefeld-Dahl said both sides need to overcome tensions around tech cooperation and digital sovereignty.

“Just beside all the marketing sit your best friends, who actually make your world run around,” she said. “You need to choose who your partner is, and I don’t see how the U.S. can win the race against China if they don’t have Europe as a best friend.”