What’s behind Europe’s efforts to ditch U.S. software in favor of sovereign tech

Governments across Europe are looking to rely less on American tech providers.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is far less vocal about his worldviews than Palantir’s Alex Karp. And yet, France is taking steps to reduce its reliance on Windows, while its domestic intelligence agency recently renewed its contract with the increasingly controversial data analytics company.

This paradox is representative of Europe’s messy breakup with U.S. tech. After painful realizations that it comes with strings attached, governments across the region are looking to rely less on American providers. But the steps taken so far have been uneven and often reactive.