Summit for More Digital Sovereignty Starts in Berlin

On the initiative of Germany and France, the European Summit on Digital Sovereignty will take place on November 18, 2025, at the Berlin Gasometer on the EUREF Campus. Over 1,000 high-profile guests from politics, business, science, and the digital community are expected. Participants include Chancellor Friedrich Merz, President Emmanuel Macron, Federal Digital Minister Dr. Karsten Wildberger, France's Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty Minister Roland Lescure, AI and Digital Minister of State Anne Le Hénanff, Civil Service and State Reform Minister of State David Amiel, EU Commissioner Henna Virkkunen, as well as digital ministers from 23 EU member states.

Federal Digital Minister Dr. Karsten Wildberger:

“We’re sending a clear signal from this summit: we Europeans can and want to be among the leaders in key technologies. We have strong companies, the skills, the expertise, and the creative minds. Germany and France want to be the driving force behind greater European digital sovereignty. To achieve this, we need bold decisions at the EU level: ambitious reforms to our digitalization and artificial intelligence laws, a determined reduction of bureaucracy, and much more room for innovation.”

France's AI and Digital Minister of State Anne Le Hénanff:

“Today we affirm that digital sovereignty is not a choice — it is a responsibility! France and Germany are driven by the ambition to make our companies more competitive and to better protect our citizens, through shared and demanding positions on data protection, targeted simplification of digital regulation, and support for a strong European digital ecosystem. Together, we are creating the conditions for a safe and ambitious digital future for Europe.”

France's Civil Service and State Reform Minister of State David Amiel:

“Once again France and Germany are driving progress. This summit marks a milestone in our joint efforts to strengthen Europe’s digital sovereignty and to promote a European preference in procurement for high-performing public services. Our continent is rich in talent and expertise: today we are laying the foundations for the emergence of European digital champions capable of serving our citizens and competing on the international stage.“

The summit will open with keynotes of Minister Wildberger and Lescure. The program includes discussions on open source, artificial intelligence, the Commission's reform plans for the digital omnibus, and European cloud and data infrastructures. The summit is intended as a starting signal to pool Europe's forces and jointly advance concrete steps to reduce dependencies, increase resilience, and promote innovation. For business representatives, the summit offers a forum to exchange views on current and planned investments in Europe's digital sovereignty.

Multiple Livestreams Enable Participation for All

The stage program starts at 10 a.m. and will be broadcast live in German, English, and French, as well as in German Sign Language on https://bmds.bund.de/eusummit

The press conferences of Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President Emmanuel Macron at around 5:45 p.m., as well as those of the two digital ministers Dr. Karsten Wildberger and Anne Le Henanff at around 12:15 p.m., will be streamed live on https://bmds.bund.de/aktuelles/eu-summit/press-and-social-media.

Exhibition Showcases Digital Innovations from Europe

In front of the Gasometer on the EUREF Campus, six glass pavilions showcase central aspects of Europe's digital sovereignty. The pavilions offer innovative insights and represent a content extension of the stage program. The following focuses and exhibits are represented:

Pavilion 1: Data Centers & Green IT

Presentation among others by Q.ANT, Jülich Supercomputing Centre, and DATA4. Here it is shown how photonics, supercomputing, and green IT enable a clean, strong, and sovereign digital infrastructure.

Pavilion 2: Start-ups & Innovation

Exhibitors such as de:hub, Quandela, Pasqal, ARX Robotics, and Helsing present prototypes of quantum technologies, robotics, and secure AI that strengthen Europe's digital independence.

Pavilion 3: Artificial Intelligence (AI Europe)

SAP and Mistral AI show concrete use cases of sovereign AI 'Made in Europe,' for example for customer service and process automation in various industries.

Pavilion 4: Open Source

The Open Source Business Alliance and other partners demonstrate how openness, transparency, and control are central values for digital sovereignty and how open source works in administration and infrastructure.

Pavilion 5: WERO -- European Digital Payment Solution

The joint German-French project WERO enables secure and sovereign digital payments throughout Europe.

Pavilion 6: Cloud & Gaia-X Data Spaces

Gaia-X, Dawex, and acatech present an interactive model that makes sovereign European data spaces tangible with trust and transparency.