State Secretary Šimundža Nikolić signs the Declaration for European Digital Sovereignty

On 18 November, State Secretary Vedrana Šimundža Nikolić signed the Declaration for European Digital Sovereignty on behalf of Croatia at a ministerial summit in Berlin. All Member States of the European Union signed the Declaration on this occasion

The Declaration defines digital sovereignty as the ability of Europe to act independently in the digital world, regulating infrastructure, data and technologies in accordance with its own laws, values and security interests, without undue reliance on external actors, while remaining open to cooperation with international partners that share European values and principles.

The declaration was signed at a time when the European Union is accelerating its strategic autonomy agenda against the backdrop of global technological competition, strategic dependencies and heightened geopolitical pressures.

The European Summit on Digital Sovereignty stressed that the EU must strengthen its technological independence so that it is no longer dependent on US and Chinese solutions, so the Franco-German initiative took the lead in advocating for cutting red tape, accelerating reforms and investments in domestic digital infrastructure, with a focus on secure data storage and cyber defence.

In addition, the Declaration stresses that digital sovereignty is not a form of protectionism or isolationism, but a common European approach aimed at strengthening the capacity to make independent technological decisions.

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