Introduction
Technological autonomy has become one of the pillars of Europe’s industrial and geopolitical strategy. The global competition over semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and digital value chains marks a turning point in how the European Union understands its economic sovereignty. Within this landscape, Spain seeks to consolidate its role as a key node in Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem, as a driving force in responsible artificial intelligence, and as a host country for strategic investments that strengthen its position in Southern Europe. The PERTE Chip programme and the implementation of the European Chips Act and the AI Regulation open a window of opportunity — but they also demand institutional coordination, regulatory stability, and a vision that combines innovation, security, and competitiveness.
Europe Accelerates Its Technological Strategy
The pandemic and the war in Ukraine exposed Europe’s vulnerability to its dependence on critical components from Asia and digital platforms from the United States. Brussels has responded with a new regulatory and industrial framework that includes the European Chips Act, the European Data Strategy, the AI Regulation, and the new Sovereignty Fund. The goal is twofold: to secure the supply of strategic technologies and to foster an indigenous industrial base that reduces the competitiveness gap with the U.S. and China. The European Commission aims to double Europe’s global share of chip production to 20% by 2030 and to position the EU as a global leader in trustworthy and ethical AI.
Spain, aware that technological sovereignty will also become a source of political power, has aligned its industrial policy with that ambition. The PERTE Chip — endowed with €12 billion — aims to attract investment, foster design and production, and create an innovation ecosystem around semiconductors, while the National AI Strategy develops in parallel with the forthcoming European legal framework.
Spain and the PERTE Chip: From Expectation to Execution
The PERTE Chip is the largest industrial project ever launched in Spain under the European recovery funds. Its success depends on two key factors: efficient execution and connection with the European value chain. Confirmed investments for 2025 include projects for chip assembly and design plants, microelectronics research centres, and collaborations with universities and technology parks. The challenge lies in ensuring that public aid translates into sustainable industrial capabilities rather than dispersed subsidies.
The government has created a special commissioner and an advisory council to strengthen governance, yet challenges persist: administrative slowdowns, a shortage of specialised engineers, and fiscal competition among European regions to attract factories and R&D centres. Even so, Spain is emerging as a strategic partner for Southern Europe within the continental semiconductor network, complementing industrial hubs in Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands. At the same time, efforts to attract investment from U.S. and Asian companies point to a delicate balance between international openness and European autonomy — a complex equation amid global rivalry.
Artificial Intelligence: Between Regulation and Opportunity
The European AI Regulation, to be phased in from 2026, represents the world’s first comprehensive attempt to establish a legal framework for this technology. Spain has played a key role in the regulatory debate, advocating for an approach based on ethics, transparency, and the protection of rights. The creation of the Spanish Agency for AI Oversight, headquartered in A Coruña, reinforces this institutional leadership.
The challenge now is to move from regulation to innovation. Spain’s AI ecosystem — made up of startups, universities, and technology centres — needs scale and funding to compete with hubs such as Silicon Valley or Shenzhen. Three priorities stand out: strengthening technology transfer from research to market, promoting AI adoption in SMEs and traditional industries, and attracting global talent through education and mobility policies. The balance between control and competitiveness will be crucial: pioneering regulation can inspire confidence and attract investment, but excessive rigidity could stifle business development. Spain seeks to position itself as a reference point for a European model proving that innovation and rights can coexist.
Digital Value Chains and European Sovereignty
Digital sovereignty extends beyond chips and AI: it encompasses the entire infrastructure underpinning the digital economy. Europe is advancing in the construction of secure networks, sovereign clouds, green data centres, and shared cybersecurity services. In this process, Spain has secured a position on the map thanks to its strategic connectivity — submarine cables linking Europe with Africa and Latin America, a growing network of data centres, and a technological startup ecosystem with an increasing international footprint.
Geography makes the Iberian Peninsula a natural hub for intercontinental data traffic, and European digital infrastructure initiatives such as GAIA-X and the European Cloud Federation have found in Spain an ideal partner. However, dependency on foreign providers in cybersecurity, hardware, and critical software remains high. Reducing this gap requires coordinated industrial policies, large-scale training in digital skills, and public–private partnerships to consolidate an autonomous technological base. Madrid is also strengthening digital diplomacy, participating in international forums on internet governance, AI regulation, and ethical technology standards — projecting an image of a country committed to a human-centred and sustainable digitalisation.
The Geopolitical Dimension: Between Washington, Brussels, and Beijing
Global technological competition has become a new form of economic geopolitics. The United States and China are engaged in a race for control over supply chains, standards, and data. The EU seeks to chart its own course — avoiding both technological subordination to Washington and industrial dependence on Beijing. Spain, a loyal member of the European and Atlantic frameworks, strives for balance: cooperation with the U.S. in innovation and defence, but also openness to diversified investment and dialogue with Asia in non-strategic sectors.
The challenge lies in maintaining coherence between autonomy and alliances. The transatlantic framework is being reinforced through joint projects on chips and cloud technologies, yet Europe remains wary of excessive U.S. corporate influence in standard-setting. Meanwhile, relations with China require caution: Spain promotes investment in renewables and clean tech, but within the limits set by Brussels on security and fair competition. Technological diplomacy thus becomes a central instrument of foreign policy, where innovation, regulation, and trade converge as axes of global power.
Horizon 2030: Industry, Talent, and Governance
To consolidate its position within Europe’s technological axis, Spain must combine industrial vision with institutional cohesion. The main lines of action are clear: complete the PERTE Chip with solid industrial projects; deploy the AI Agency as a benchmark for regulation and innovation; strengthen university–industry collaboration; attract foreign talent through competitive residency and tax incentives; and establish a stable digital governance framework based on transparency and evaluation.
Success will depend on the ability to connect these pillars into a coherent national narrative — of a Spain that not only consumes technology, but also produces and regulates it. Coordination among ministries, regional governments, and the private sector will be essential to prevent duplication and fragmentation. The window of opportunity provided by European funds and the global reconfiguration of supply chains will not last forever. Turning announcements into measurable results — qualified employment, tech exports, patents, and foreign investment attraction — will be the ultimate test of Spain’s leadership in Europe’s new digital sovereignty.