Miguel De Bruycker, head of the Cyber Security Center in Belgium, states that Europe has lost control over the internet due to its dependence on American tech giants.

Miguel De Bruycker, head of the Cybersecurity Center in Belgium, stated that Europe has "lost the internet" due to its dependence on cloud services dominated by American companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. He emphasized that it is "impossible" to store data entirely in Europe, which makes the bloc vulnerable to external pressures. De Bruycker highlighted that over 70% of the cloud infrastructure used by European institutions is controlled by American companies, which limits Europe's strategic autonomy and exposes states to geopolitical risks. To combat this dependence, the expert proposed concrete measures, including investments in the development of a European cloud infrastructure and alternatives for search engines and social networks. The European Union has already started initiatives such as GAIA-X, but developing an independent digital infrastructure will require time, massive investments, and coordination among member states.