DG CNECT

DG CNECT is the European Commission directorate responsible for shaping and implementing EU digital policy, including the AI Act, the Chips Act, the Digital Markets Act (alongside DG COMP), the Data Act, and the Digital Decade targets. It is the institutional owner of European tech sovereignty as a policy concept. In April 2026, DG CNECT co-issued preliminary DMA compliance measures requiring Google to share search data with AI rivals on FRAND terms and oversaw the €180m sovereign cloud procurement framework for EU institutions .

DG CNECT leads the implementation of the EU Chips Act, which committed €43bn toward building European semiconductor production capacity with a target of 20% global market share by 2030. Following the cancellation of the Intel Magdeburg fab and suspension of the GlobalFoundries Crolles project in 2025, neither DG CNECT nor Commissioner Virkkunen has formally restated or revised the 20% target.

The directorate's operational pattern in 2026 is approving state-aid packages and pilot-line designations (NanoIC at €700m, Italian photonics at €211m) while leaving the original headline ambition un-retracted. This creates uncertainty for European semiconductor investors and member-state planners, who cannot calibrate national investment strategies against a target that has no credible delivery mechanism but has not been formally abandoned .