The head of the Finnish Intelligence Service warns that Europe may never escape dependence on foreign technologies.

Juha Martelius, the head of the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service, stated at the Lennart Meri Security Conference that Europe may never be independent of foreign technologies, having a significant dependence on software from the United States and hardware from China. He used the metaphor of "cancer" to describe this infiltration, emphasizing that while it is impossible to completely eliminate this dependence, Europe can learn to live with it.

His warning comes against the backdrop of European efforts to enhance its strategic autonomy, particularly in the field of critical technologies. The European Commission is set to present a package on technological sovereignty, which would restrict the use of American cloud services by the governments of member states.

Martelius mentioned that critical information for national security, such as that related to elections, should not be managed by foreign companies. He also raised questions about Europe's ability to develop efficient cloud services and to win a potential conflict with Russia without foreign technology, stating that, at present, this is not possible.