Kenyan firms hit by global Microsoft outage disrupting emails, meetings

Friday’s widespread Microsoft product outage has reignited calls for Europe to take control of its own digital infrastructure, particularly as the future of artificial intelligence hangs in the balance. Currently, only 20% of European digital services operate on European infrastructure, according to Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch, who discussed the issue with EU national leaders during their inaugural AI meeting in Dublin.

Mensch pointed out that the funds spent on foreign, U.S. or Chinese technology could be better invested locally, supporting European research and development. The Microsoft outage, which lasted nearly 24 hours and affected millions of users across 74 countries, impacted key tools like Outlook email and Teams messaging, affecting attendees at the AI-focused EU summit.

French President Emmanuel Macron closed the proceedings by stating on X, "Our independence cannot be outsourced. It must be built here at home, in Europe." He emphasized that Europe possesses the resources and capabilities to compete with artificial intelligence. An EU diplomat present at the event echoed the sentiment, calling for increased speed, permitting, and investment to achieve digital sovereignty and maintain a strong global market position.

Finnish European Parliament lawmaker Aura Salla echoed this call, suggesting that government contracts should specifically support European technology during the outage. Others highlighted the systemic risk of relying on digital infrastructure controlled by a few global tech giants, as Microsoft's outages demonstrate. In the U.K., Liberal Democrat party tech spokesperson Victoria Collins emphasized the urgent need for a digital sovereign strategy, urging action to reduce dependence on a limited number of companies.

Germany’s Johannes Schätzl from the Social Democratic Party raised the question of public procurement, emphasizing that digital sovereignty must be measured by the ability to remain operational during outages like the recent Microsoft incident.