EU tech chief faces pressure to confront Trump over digital threats

Calls are intensifying for the European Commission, and Tech Commissioner Henna Virkkunen in particular, to offer a firm response to threats by US President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on countries whose technology regulation hits American companies. 

Virkkunen, who has held the job since December, came under fire this week for failing to respond publicly to the allegations made by Trump earlier this week. 

A Commission spokesperson defended Virkkunen, saying that “she will fight back against all unfounded claims, she has done so, she will continue to do it.”

Some EU lawmakers told Euronews that they are unhappy with the lack of response following Trump’s remarks last Monday, when he warned: “Show respect to America and our amazing Tech Companies or consider the consequences.”

Laura Ballarin (Spain/S&D) said that Virkkunen “has been too silent for too long on this matter”, adding that the EU needs to “step up and [...] speak out loud the language of power, the one President Trump understands.” “Remaining silent is not an option,” she said. 

“EU digital laws and the protection of digital consumers cannot be bargaining chips to serve the political agenda of Donald Trump and the Big Tech. Europe must assert itself and take a more prominent role in negotiations with the United States,” she added.

This was echoed by Leila Chaibi (France/GUE-NGL) who said it is “unbearable” that Virkkunen is “invisible”. 

“This is probably as much due to her lack of courage as to [Commission President] Von der Leyen’s determination to muzzle her commissioners in order to avoid new ‘Thierry Breton cases’,” she said, citing the French former EU Internal Market Commissioner noted for his outspoken interventions while serving during von der Leyen's first mandate. 

Alex Agius Saliba (Malta/S&D) said that besides enforcement, speaking out in public to defend the bloc’s digital rules is an important part of Virkkunen’s role.

“If there is a direct attack on European rule of law by the American president and his government, the Commissioner has to react. We have given her some time to take on her new role and we know that the transatlantic relations are tense. But now a deal has been struck on the tariffs to avoid a trade war and Europe can not bow down even further to the Americans,” he said. “Our patience is running thin.”

However, not everyone thinks that Virkkunen should speak up more. 

Dóra Dávid (Hungary/EPP) said that the Commission, including the tech commissioner, is “managing a volatile situation in a calm and measured way, while firmly rejecting any notion that EU member states would under duress give up their sovereign right to regulate.”

Virkkunen travelled to the US in May to explain the bloc’s policy after ongoing criticism from the US administration. In addition, she has said in the recent months that EU tech legislation – including the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) – is fair and not a censorship tool.

Ribera and Breton speak out

Further calls for action are also coming from within the Commission’s ranks. 

In an interview with the Financial Times on Friday, Teresa Ribera, the EU Commissioner in charge of competition policy, called on the bloc to be “courageous” in response to threats from the US president. “We may be kind, polite, try to find ways to solve problems and discrepancies but we cannot accept whatever [they demand],” Ribera said. “We cannot be subject to the will of a third country.”

In an op-ed published on Thursday in The Guardian, Thierry Breton, Virkkunen’s predecessor, asked: “How long are we, citizens of the EU, going to tolerate these threats?” 

“We were told humiliation was the price we had to pay for stability. But if we don’t push back now, we will get humiliation and instability. Will this latest assault on our digital laws finally be enough to wake us up?” he asked.

Breton, who himself was caught up in several online spats with X owner Elon Musk calling on the US tech giant to follow EU rules, was invited by the US House of Judiciary Committee to attend a hearing on "Europe's threat to American speech and innovation" next Wednesday. 

He said in a post on X on Thursday that he will reject the invitation. The Commission warned previously that former commissioners cannot give statements without prior authorisation.