The European Commission and a consortium led by Telefonica have launched EURO-3C, the first pan-European sovereign infrastructure integrating Telco, Edge, Cloud and AI capabilities under a federated, open and secure model. Backed by €75 mn in funding from the Horizon Europe programme, EURO-3C aims to accelerate Europe’s digital and industrial transformation while reinforcing technological sovereignty.
The announcement was made at Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona, with senior European Union officials and industry leaders marking the milestone in the development of a strategic European digital ecosystem.
Aligning with Europe’s Digital Decade 2030 Vision
EURO-3C is closely aligned with the European Union’s Digital Decade Policy Programme 2030, which identifies secure, sustainable and resilient digital infrastructures as a core strategic pillar. By converging telecommunications, edge computing, cloud platforms and AI-driven capabilities, the initiative strengthens Europe’s ambition to build a secure and sovereign digital communications landscape made in Europe.
Renate Nikolay, Deputy Director General at the European Commission, emphasized the importance of telco-edge-cloud convergence enhanced by AI to benefit industrial sectors and society at large.
Production-Ready Infrastructure Across 13+ Countries
EURO-3C has deployed a federated, multi-telco and multi-vendor infrastructure in real production environments. The platform integrates more than 70 Edge and Cloud nodes distributed across more than 13 European countries.
This pan-European network enables advanced digital services with high standards of performance, interoperability and security. It addresses mission-critical requirements in sectors such as:
Automotive
Transport
Energy
Public safety
By operating in live production settings, the infrastructure demonstrates immediate applicability and scalability for industrial use cases.
Federation, Scale and Validated Impact
The EURO-3C project is built on three key pillars:
1. Federation
An interoperable architecture connects the existing capabilities of multiple telecom operators and cloud providers within a unified European framework. This approach avoids fragmentation while enabling seamless cross-border digital services.
2. Pan-European Industrial Scale
The initiative brings together telecom operators, industry leaders, technology suppliers, SMEs, research institutions and public authorities. This large-scale collaboration ensures that Europe can compete globally with an integrated and sovereign digital backbone.
3. Validated Impact
Nine high-value business use cases will demonstrate real-world applicability, performance and scalability. These use cases are designed to prove that a federated European infrastructure can meet the operational and security needs of strategic industries.
AI-Enabled Orchestration and Resilient Architecture
EURO-3C integrates advanced AI-enabled orchestration capabilities to manage resources dynamically across telco, edge and cloud environments. This ensures:
Efficient workload distribution
Optimized latency and performance
High levels of cybersecurity
Resilience against disruptions
The interoperable services layer further enhances flexibility, enabling organizations to deploy next-generation digital applications with confidence.
Strengthening Europe’s Technological Sovereignty
Juan Montero, Director of Public Policy, Competition and Regulation at Telefonica, highlighted that technological sovereignty and industrial competitiveness are central priorities for the European Union. He noted that achieving these goals requires advanced digital infrastructures combined with strong cross-border and cross-sector collaboration.
EURO-3C delivers a European-scale cooperative computing network that merges connectivity, edge computing, cloud services and AI. The initiative reinforces Europe’s industrial leadership while laying the groundwork for true digital sovereignty.
A Broad European Consortium of 70+ Entities
EURO-3C represents a collective European effort, bringing together more than 70 organizations across the digital value chain. Key industry participants include:
Vodafone
Ericsson
Nokia
Deutsche Telekom
Orange
Capgemini
BT Group
The consortium also includes SMEs, universities, research centers and public sector bodies, reinforcing a cooperation model that enhances European technological capacity across critical segments of the digital ecosystem.
Public Sector and National Authority Participation
National authorities affiliated with the Public Safety Communication Europe network are also involved, reflecting the project’s importance for secure communications and emergency response systems across multiple EU member states.
Their participation underlines the relevance of EURO-3C for public safety, civil protection and national resilience strategies.
Driving Europe’s Digital and Industrial Transformation
With secure, AI-powered, federated infrastructure at its core, EURO-3C represents a decisive step toward:
Reducing dependency on non-European digital platforms
Strengthening Europe’s cloud and edge ecosystem
Supporting Industry 4.0 transformation
Enhancing public safety and critical infrastructure resilience By combining telco, edge, cloud and AI capabilities under a sovereign and interoperable framework, EURO-3C positions Europe to compete effectively in the next decade of digital innovation while safeguarding its strategic autonomy.
SHAFANA FAZAL