Franziska Brantner, the Green Party co‑chair, urged Europe to act more decisively and confidently toward US President Donald Trump in the pursuit of digital independence. She told the news portal T‑Online that over the next five to ten years Europe must build secure cloud infrastructure, domestic providers for defense and energy, and reliable public‑sector interfaces. Brantner stressed that for clouds, data centres and AI “factories” Europe should invest together, and as a state purchase European technology, bring actors together and coordinate how the systems are used.
The Green politician also criticized the reluctance of some Europeans and the European Commission to confront Trump. “Trump constantly threatens, and that is why I want Europe to become more independent” she said. The president reacts to strength and sees Europe as an attractive market-a fact she says can be used confidently. Brantner warned that Europe is dependent on the United States in the digital, energy and defense realms, and that a scenario in which “Trump one day wakes up and decides to impose a 20 percent export duty on US LNG if Brussels enforces digital laws against US companies” is not out of the question.
Brantner further warned that US tech figures such as Elon Musk and Peter Thiel seek to strip meaningful regulation and protection standards from under the guise of easing bureaucracy. “I am firmly opposed to that” she said. “In certain areas we also need additional measures-such as a ban on technologies that digitally track and sexualize people without their consent-like the case with Grok”.