Introduction: A New Geopolitical Reality
For decades, Europe saw itself as the cultural and intellectual backbone of the Western world. But the global balance of power has shifted dramatically over the past decade. Today, Europe risks becoming what some call a “decadent nobility”—rich in history, but poor in strategic influence.
We are living through a pivotal moment: the “last call” for Europe’s competitiveness. Global competition is no longer defined by physical goods, but by the creation, movement, and control of data. Digital infrastructure—not territory—defines sovereignty.
This context brings Digital Sovereignty to the center of the geopolitical chessboard. As theorist Benjamin Bratton notes with the concept of the planetary “stack,” control over cloud, software, and compute infrastructure now shapes geopolitical power more than nation-states themselves. Without ownership and governance of its digital layer, Europe faces a profound structural disadvantage.
Regulatory Paralysis and Digital Colonialism
Europe’s instinctive response to innovation has always been the same: regulate. But overregulation has slowed experimentation, discouraged risk-taking, and limited technological growth. Innovation doesn’t flourish under heavy administrative frameworks.
Meanwhile, the digital world consolidated under the control of U.S. hyperscalers, creating what several analysts now call digital colonialism.
A key issue is the emergence of a “fourth dimension”—the digital realm—operating above traditional national boundaries. Even when a data center is physically located in Italy, the software layer dictates jurisdiction.
Under U.S. law, American companies may be compelled to share data with national security agencies—even if that data resides in Europe. This means an Italian citizen’s health records stored on U.S.-owned infrastructure could, in theory, be accessed without informing Italy. France and Germany have already moved aggressively to address this conflict at a European level.
Europe’s Structural Weakness: Capital Scarcity
The second major roadblock is financial. Europe suffers from a chronic shortage of venture capital and a conservative investment culture.
The U.S. relies on a power-law investment model:
3–4 failures out of 10? Expected. 1 massive success? It pays for everything.
Europe instead prioritizes protecting existing industries to preserve employment, rather than funding disruptive innovation. This hinders new ventures from scaling quickly.
Even exceptional European talent often needs to seek funding abroad. DeepMind is a classic example: limited domestic investment in the UK pushed the company toward U.S. capital before being acquired by Google.
Forging “The Italian Way”
Against this backdrop, Italy is searching for a path tailored to its own industrial fabric.
Pietro Labriola, CEO of TIM, has been one of the most vocal proponents of this approach. Under his leadership, TIM took bold actions—such as spinning off its network infrastructure—to reset its trajectory.
1. A New Model for Public Cloud Sovereignty
Italy, together with the National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN), has defined a hybrid approach:
Use hyperscaler technology. But ensure encryption keys are controlled by an Italian entity.
This ensures:
No foreign government can access Italian data. Hyperscalers can’t bypass national protections. Public administration data remains sovereign.
2. Large Enterprises as Startup Accelerators
Italy is also pushing large enterprises to act as catalysts for domestic startups. TIM’s “Customer Platform” strategy is a notable example, built on two pillars:
Innovation Procurement
TIM proactively identifies and purchases solutions from Italian startups, giving them real market traction.
Asset Sharing
Startups gain access to TIM’s:
national brand power, broad customer base, distribution and billing channels.
This provides the “missing pieces” early-stage startups struggle with, accelerating time-to-market and reducing failure risk.
Practical Applications: Digital Twins
The strategy is already producing tangible innovation:
Digital twins of customers, based on public conversations, test marketing campaigns before launch. A digital twin of the CEO drafts speeches and articles. AI-simulated financial analysts and board members help prepare investors’ presentations.
This is where theory meets execution: the merging of virtual and real to improve decision-making.
Risks: Energy Costs and Talent Drain
There’s a pressing danger: Italy’s energy costs are roughly double the EU average. Since cloud infrastructure relies heavily on compute-intensive environments, this undermines Italy’s attractiveness for data center investments.
If hyperscalers and cloud operators migrate toward cheaper countries like France or Spain, Italy risks:
losing digital know-how, weakening its technological autonomy, missing out on next-generation infrastructure.
A Strategic Call to Action
For Italy—and Europe—the message is blunt: change the approach now or become irrelevant.
Major Italian companies such as ENEL, ENI, Leonardo, and Poste Italiane must act as strategic engines, not passive observers. Europe must avoid becoming a cultural theme park—“a beautiful Disneyland”—with no technological sovereignty.
History shows that Europe often finds its strength during moments of crisis. This is one of those moments—a Machiavellian moment demanding focus, courage, and coordinated action.
A Simple Analogy
Europe’s approach so far is like a city council debating ethical guidelines for self-driving cars before the wheel has even been invented.
The Italian Way, instead, acknowledges reality:
The car (the digital stack) exists and is foreign. Italy must hold the keys (encryption control). And its established automakers (TIM and other large enterprises) must sponsor local engineers (startups) to build the next generation of components.
