When Thierry Breton stepped down as European Commissioner in 2024, he left behind a legacy of ambition and vision for Europe’s technological future. Breton had pushed for digital sovereignty, stronger industrial and AI policies and a robust regulatory framework. Yet, the landscape he helped shape has evolved into something far more complex than any single individual could steer.
Europe loves the idea of speaking with one voice on artificial intelligence. It imagines itself as a unified digital bloc, capable of regulating, innovating and competing on equal terms. But behind the political speeches and shared legislation lies a reality that is far more complex: Europe does not inhabit one digital future — it inhabits twenty-seven.
Europe likes to present itself as the world’s moral anchor in the age of artificial intelligence. It wants to be the region where technology is shaped by human rights, democratic values and ethical principles rather than by Silicon Valley’s commercial logic or Beijing’s state-driven ambitions. On paper, that is a noble mission. But once you look closely at how Europe actually approaches AI — how laws are made, how member states behave and how uneven the digital landscape truly is — a far more complicated picture emerges.
