The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the topic of data sovereignty within the European Union

The European Commission has launched the consultation to seek input on the challenges that European organisations face as data increasingly flows across borders. 

Open until 8 September 2026, the consultation is aimed at stakeholders across the data value chain. It seeks to build a clearer picture of dependencies that could affect Europe’s ability to control, access and use strategic data. 

It focuses on several key issues, including barriers to accessing or using data in third countries, obstacles to transferring data into the EU and risks arising from third countries accessing sensitive data. The Commission aims to assess how these dependencies may affect the autonomy and decision-making capacity of European organisations. 

Contributions can be submitted via the European Commission’s consultation platform. 

Data sovereignty is a European priority 

The consultation follows the Data Union Strategy, presented in November 2025, which prioritises safeguarding EU data sovereignty to strengthen Europe’s position in international data flows. 

The Strategy is also closely aligned with the European Technology Sovereignty Package, which brings together measures aimed at bolstering the EU’s capabilities in strategic areas such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and open-source technology. 

The European Commission considers data to be a critical asset for Europe’s competitiveness, innovation and security, particularly in the context of the development and deployment of artificial intelligence. 

Although the EU already has a legal framework designed to support trusted data flows, Brussels has identified several risks that could undermine European data sovereignty. These include unjustified data localisation requirements, discriminatory rules and entities in third countries accessing or transferring data.  

The Commission is therefore seeking to strike a balance between protecting Europe’s strategic interests and maintaining an open environment for international cooperation. The aim is to ensure a level playing field and security, while also aligning with EU values and interests and preserving cross-border data flows with trusted partners. 

Your input is needed to shape future EU policy 

This consultation is particularly relevant to organisations across the data value chain, including public authorities, technology companies, and cloud service providers, as well as other stakeholders.    

The feedback collected will help the European Commission to identify key dependencies and vulnerabilities, and to inform potential policy and regulatory measures that could strengthen the EU’s sovereignty over data.  

This initiative is another step in Europe’s broader strategy to reduce its reliance on external technology and ensure that data critical to the European economy and security can be accessed, used and protected in line with EU rules and interests.