‘Having Your (Digital) Cake and Eating It’: Reconciling Strategic Narratives on Connectivity and Autonomy

This article examines the EU's evolving narratives concerning the governance of digital technologies, focusing on the intersection of geopolitical challenges and internal policymaking through the lens of the strategic narratives approach. This compares two key EU narratives relating to digital policy: on the one hand, the narrative on ‘digital connectivity’ which advocates collaboration, engagement and market inclusion, and on the other hand, the more recent development of a defensive ‘digital sovereignty’ narrative emphasising the need for EU-based digital industries, diversified supply chains and reduced reliance on external powers. Through an analysis of the official documents, strategy papers, public speeches and legislative initiatives on digital policy launched by the EU during the term of the first von der Leyen's Commission (2019–2024), we highlight how these two narratives evolved to coexist, determining the EU's unique approach to digital governance. The paper finds that both narratives may be less incompatible than one would think at first sight. They have transformed over time, in response to the increase in geopolitical competition, reaching a point of convergence in the mid-2020s when the EU appeared to succeed in reconciling the contending aims of openness and autonomy in digital policy. The paper concludes with observations on the interplay between narrative constructions and the policymaking process and an outlook on the ongoing challenges confronting the EU.