Why the European Commission’s new Tech Sovereignty Package matters for EdTech, Bulgaria and the future of education.
Albena Spasova is a member of the Sovereignty Workshop on the Future of EdTech at the European Commission.
On 3 June 2026, the European Commission presented a new European Technological Sovereignty Package to strengthen Europe’s capacity in semiconductors, cloud, artificial intelligence and open source. The package brings together major initiatives including Chips Act 2.0, the Cloud and AI Development Act, the EU Open Source Strategy, and a roadmap for the digitalisation and AI transformation of the energy sector. Its central purpose is to reduce structural dependencies and strengthen Europe’s ability to control the critical technologies on which its economy, public services and citizens increasingly depend.
From an EdTech perspective, this is not only an industrial or technology policy issue. It is also an education issue. Every modern education system now depends on a digital stack: devices, chips, connectivity, cloud infrastructure, identity systems, learning platforms, digital content, cybersecurity, data governance and, increasingly, AI models. If this stack is controlled by a small number of non-European providers, or if schools cannot understand, audit, adapt or leave the systems they use, then education policy becomes dependent on external technological and commercial decisions.
For Europe, digital sovereignty in education should not mean isolation from global innovation. It should mean the ability to choose, govern, interoperate, audit and innovate according to European democratic values, educational goals and fundamental rights. The Commission defines technological sovereignty as Europe’s ability to act independently in the digital world by developing and controlling key technologies, data and infrastructure while reducing excessive reliance on non-EU actors. The Commission also notes that Europe currently relies on non-EU countries for more than 80% of key digital products, services, infrastructure and intellectual property.
Why this matters for EdTech
Education is one of the most sensitive areas of digital transformation. Schools and universities do not simply “use software”; they shape citizens, skills, knowledge, values and social mobility. The digital tools used in classrooms influence how teachers teach, how students learn, how assessment is organised and how educational data is collected.
This makes EdTech sovereignty a question of trust. Learner data should not become a by-product of opaque commercial ecosystems. Public education systems should be able to require transparency, data portability, interoperability, cybersecurity and long-term accountability from the platforms they procure. The Commission’s proposed Cloud and AI Development Act is therefore especially relevant for education, because it aims to expand Europe’s cloud and AI capacity, create a framework for cloud and AI sovereignty, and protect critical applications and sensitive data.
AI makes this discussion even more urgent. AI tutors, automated assessment, adaptive learning systems and learning analytics can support teachers and personalise learning, but they also create risks around bias, explainability, privacy and over-reliance on automated decisions. The EU AI Act identifies certain AI systems used in education, including systems that may determine access to education or evaluate learning outcomes, as high-risk. These systems must meet obligations such as risk management, data quality, documentation, transparency, human oversight, accuracy, robustness and cybersecurity.
This is why the future of EdTech in Europe should be based on a simple principle: innovation must be trusted, and trust must be designed into the system from the beginning. The Commission’s updated guidelines on the ethical use of AI and data in teaching and learning underline the need for ethical, legal and pedagogical reflection, as well as practical support for teachers and education staff.
Open source, interoperability and public value
One of the most important elements of the new package is the EU Open Source Strategy. The Commission places open source at the centre of Europe’s technological sovereignty, arguing that open source can reduce dependency, increase control over critical infrastructure, improve interoperability and support reuse across public administrations.
For EdTech, this is highly significant. Open source does not automatically solve every education technology problem, but it creates possibilities that proprietary, closed systems often limit. It can allow ministries, municipalities, universities, schools and local companies to adapt tools to national curricula, languages and pedagogical needs. It can reduce vendor lock-in. It can help public authorities spend money on shared infrastructure and reusable components rather than repeatedly buying closed systems that cannot communicate with one another.
This is especially important for smaller markets and languages, including Bulgarian. A sovereign European EdTech ecosystem must support not only large markets, but also smaller education systems, minority languages, local curricula and national educational priorities. Bulgaria needs digital tools that work well in Bulgarian, respect Bulgarian educational standards, and can be integrated with national platforms and public-sector requirements.
Bulgaria: why the issue is urgent
For Bulgaria, technological sovereignty in education is not an abstract European debate. It is directly connected to the quality, equity and competitiveness of the national education system.
Bulgaria has made important progress in digital infrastructure and national digital transformation. The European Commission’s 2025 Digital Decade country report notes that Bulgaria has well-developed connectivity infrastructure and is investing in digital transformation, including through its national Digital Decade roadmap. At the same time, the report identifies continuing challenges in digital skills, SME digital uptake, research and development, and cybersecurity preparedness.
The education data show why this matters. According to the 2025 Education and Training Monitor for Bulgaria, around half of Bulgarian 15-year-olds do not reach basic proficiency in mathematics, reading or science in PISA 2022. The same report notes that only 52.1% of 16- to 19-year-olds in Bulgaria had at least basic or above-basic digital skills in 2023, compared with an EU average of 66.5%.
These figures should not be read as an argument against technology. They are an argument for better, more purposeful and more sovereign technology. Digital platforms alone will not improve learning outcomes. But well-designed, evidence-based and teacher-supported EdTech can help address learning gaps, personalise support, improve access to quality resources and strengthen digital competences.
Bulgaria already has important foundations. National reforms include programmes such as ICT in Preschool and School Education, Qualification of Pedagogical Specialists, and Training for IT Skills and Careers. Bulgaria has also developed the national Digital Backpack platform, designed to provide access to digital educational content and support teachers in creating and sharing digital resources.
The question now is how these national efforts can be connected to the broader European sovereignty agenda. Bulgaria should not only be a consumer of digital education platforms. It should be an active contributor to a European EdTech ecosystem built on open standards, trusted AI, secure infrastructure, multilingual content and strong teacher participation.
What Bulgaria can gain from a sovereign EdTech approach
A European sovereignty approach can bring several concrete benefits to Bulgaria’s education system.
First, it can help protect children’s and students’ data. Education data is highly sensitive. It can reveal learning difficulties, behaviour patterns, family context, disabilities, interests and future opportunities. Bulgaria needs digital education systems where data is stored, processed and shared under clear public rules, with strong cybersecurity and compliance with European standards.
Second, it can reduce vendor lock-in. Public investments in EdTech should not trap schools in systems that are expensive to change, difficult to integrate or impossible to audit. Interoperability, open APIs, data portability and open standards should become normal requirements in procurement.
Third, it can support Bulgarian EdTech companies and SMEs. A European framework for trusted, interoperable and sovereignty-aligned EdTech can create market opportunities for local innovators. Bulgarian companies should be able to build tools that integrate with national and European infrastructure, compete on quality and evidence, and scale beyond the domestic market.
Fourth, it can strengthen teacher agency. Teachers should not be passive users of platforms designed elsewhere. They should be co-designers, evaluators and critical users of digital tools. This requires investment in teacher training, AI literacy and digital pedagogy, not only in hardware or software. The Digital Education Action Plan 2021–2027 stresses the importance of high-quality, inclusive and accessible digital education, while the European Digital Education Hub was created to reduce fragmentation and support cooperation among digital education stakeholders.
Fifth, it can help close regional and social gaps. Digital transformation must benefit students in small towns, rural areas and disadvantaged communities, not only well-resourced schools in major cities. Sovereignty in education should therefore include inclusion: affordable access, accessible design, Bulgarian-language content, teacher support and evidence that tools improve learning.
A European opportunity, not only a defensive strategy
The strongest argument for EdTech sovereignty is not fear. It is opportunity.
Europe has the chance to build a digital education ecosystem that reflects its own strengths: public education, strong privacy protections, multilingualism, cultural diversity, research excellence, social inclusion and democratic accountability. The Commission’s new package gives the technological foundation for this ambition: stronger cloud and AI capacity, a renewed semiconductor strategy, open-source alternatives and reduced structural dependencies.
For Bulgaria, this is a moment to align national education priorities with Europe’s broader digital direction. The country’s AI strategy already recognises the need to develop digital and AI-related skills, apply AI tools in education, strengthen teacher competences and improve infrastructure for digital transformation.
As I join the June 17 workshop of the Sovereignty Working Group on the Future of EdTech at the European Commission, my key message is this: EdTech sovereignty is not about closing Europe off from the world. It is about ensuring that Europe’s schools, teachers and learners are not locked into systems they cannot understand, influence, adapt or leave.
For Bulgaria, this means building an education technology environment where digital tools are secure, interoperable, transparent, pedagogically meaningful and aligned with public interest. It means supporting teachers, protecting students, enabling local innovation and making sure that Bulgarian education is not merely digitised, but strengthened.
The future of European EdTech should be open, trusted, multilingual and human-centred. And Bulgaria should be part of building it.
