More than half of the population (56%) indicate technological sovereignty as a priority, and 57%. supports the construction of digital autonomy based on own or EU resources.
The report “Technological sovereignty of Poland and Europe. 2026 edition”, published by the Digital Poland Foundation, prepared in cooperation with NielsenIQ, sheds new light on Poles' attitudes towards technology.
The rest of the article below the video:
The report also presents growing social concerns about Europe's dependence on foreign technology giants and points to actions taken by other countries to build their own digital autonomy.
— The survey results confirm that Poles understand the importance of developing a strong technology industry in Europe and are ready to support it even at higher costs, comments Cristina Caffarra, founder of the EuroStack Initiative Foundation.
“Fortress Europe”. Digital security is a priority
The most important conclusions from the study are clear. Europe must develop its own technological solutions to become as independent as possible from foreign service providers. The position of Poles leaves no doubt on this matter.
56 percent Poles believe that our country's technological sovereignty is of great or very great importanceand only 9 percent respondents marginalize this topic.
It is also worth noting that the vast majority of respondentsis ready to bear the costs of this independence, because 71 percent respondents are willing to pay more for domestic technological solutions.
Read also: Over PLN 726 million for new e-services. A few of them will make your life much easier
However, sovereignty does not mean that we are closed to international cooperation. According to the study, nearly 6 out of 10 Poles support a model in which technological sovereignty is built solely on the basis of own national resources (29%) or cooperation limited to the structures of the European Union (28%), which the authors describe as a vision of the technological “Fortress Europe”.
Threats arising from the lack of technological sovereignty
The authors of the report also draw attention to the threats resulting from the lack of technological sovereignty. They emphasize that the Polish economy is incurring increasing costs as a result.
Read also: It's not the AI that will go to jail, it's you. Everyone forgets one thing
Companies operating in countries with a high level of technological sovereignty, as we read, they achieve margins of 25-35%. In countries such as Poland, which are recipients of technology, margins drop to as much as 5-10%..
This translates into a serious trade deficit in digital services, which – according to the estimates of the Łukasiewicz Research Network – already reaches PLN 45 billion annually, and by 2030 its value may be comparable to the deficit resulting from the import of fossil fuels.
Economic impacts are not the only risk. Lack of control over key technologies increases the risk of operational paralysis, e.g. due to lack of access to components or the so-called kill switch – remotely cutting off the country from important services. The risk of espionage, loss of intellectual property and manipulation of democratic processes via foreign platforms also increases.
Read also: Digital resurrection is now possible
— The threat of hidden vulnerabilities is closely related to the risk of remote shutdown of the infrastructure by a foreign manufacturer and the possibility of espionage. Open source software allows users to verify solutions and eliminate the so-called back gates – emphasizes Marcin Madey, Country Manager of SUSE Polska.
