Merz, Macron lead Berlin talks on Europe's digital independence

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron, ministers from EU countries and business leaders meet in Berlin on Tuesday to discuss ways for Europe to reduce its reliance on non-European tech companies.

The Summit on European Digital Sovereignty is set to host delegations from 23 countries. Merz and Macron are to deliver the keynote speeches.

Multiple announcements are anticipated on cooperation and investments by German and French companies in areas including computing infrastructure, quantum technology, health care, defence and drones, government sources in Berlin said.

A central focus of the summit will be cloud computing and how Europe can develop its own secure infrastructure for storing government and corporate data.

Currently, major US companies such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google dominate the cloud computing market. The summit will also address software use in government agencies and public administration.