EU Tech News

Uruky, an EU-based alternative to Kagi, has expanded its ad-free private search platform with new image search and URL rewrite features. These updates enhance the search engine's capabilities while maintaining its core focus on user privacy.

Reader discussions highlight the ingenuity of Eastern Bloc engineers who reverse-engineered Western hardware like the DEC PDP-11 to bypass US sanctions and maintain compatibility with global software standards. By cloning Western systems and replicating software to save resources, these Cold War-era machines closely mirrored their American counterparts despite limited access to global supply chains. Today, these historic Soviet and East German clones remain preserved in university lobbies and local flea markets, continuing to fascinate classic computing enthusiasts.

London developers frequently secure planning permission by promising free public roof terraces, but they often deter actual visitors with strict booking requirements and excessive security theater. Additionally, local authorities struggle to enforce these operational obligations long-term, allowing developers to quietly convert the terraces into private venues or close them indefinitely. As a result, these heavily restricted spaces often fail to deliver on their original promise of genuine public accessibility.

A Danish pension fund has excluded SpaceX from its investment portfolio, citing concerns over corporate governance and the company's high valuation. The news has sparked online debate among investors, who are discussing whether the valuation is driven by market hype and if the fund's decision was politically motivated.

At the recent Mistral AI Now Summit in Paris, the company highlighted its strategic focus on open models, on-premise deployments, and agentic AI harnesses. These developments underscore Mistral's broader ambition to establish itself as Europe's premier full-stack artificial intelligence partner.

The European Commission has fined Chinese online retailer Temu €200 million for failing to address the risks of illegal products on its platform. The penalty specifically cites the company's oversight in allowing the sale of unsafe items, such as hazardous baby toys and faulty chargers.

Spain blocked prediction markets Polymarket and Kalshi for operating without a required gambling license. This regulatory action highlights growing concerns regarding the real-world risks of such platforms, which critics argue incentivize dangerous behaviors ranging from insider leaks to the tampering of critical infrastructure sensors.

The Netherlands has blocked an American company from acquiring a vital domestic digital supplier to protect its national interests. This decision reflects growing concerns across Europe regarding the continent's heavy reliance on American technology firms.

Norway's National Library leverages 2 petabytes of Huawei flash storage to maintain a vast digital archive of Norwegian texts, though users remain frustrated by strict geo-restrictions and manual approval processes for accessing copyrighted materials. This massive dataset has sparked discussions about developing a sovereign Norwegian large language model to better preserve local history and culture. However, some skeptics argue that existing global models already train on sufficient multilingual data, potentially making a dedicated sovereign LLM unnecessary.

IBM is utilizing a $2 billion CHIPS Act investment across nine companies to launch Anderon, America's first pure-play quantum chip foundry. This strategic spin-off aims to significantly advance domestic manufacturing and innovation in the quantum computing sector.

Dutch authorities arrested the co-owners of two internet hosting companies and seized 800 servers that Russia used to launch cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns. The seized IT infrastructure was specifically targeted for facilitating malicious influence operations across the European Union.

Italy is acquiring six Airbus A330 MRTT tanker aircraft in a 1.39 billion euro deal to strengthen the European pillar of NATO. This strategic procurement shift will significantly enhance the nation's advanced aerial refueling capabilities and support broader alliance operations.

Researchers from the European Spallation Source and RWTH Aachen University used small angle neutron and X-ray scattering to compare the nanostructure of gluten-free and traditional spaghetti. They discovered that gluten-free pasta lacks the structural resilience of regular pasta, making it much less forgiving to varied cooking conditions and explaining why it tends to fall apart.

Thirty-five years ago, Helen Sharman became the first British person in space after responding to an unconventional job advertisement. Her historic orbital mission remains a landmark milestone in the UK's aerospace and technology history.

Five leading European mobile payment providers are joining forces to challenge the dominance of American networks like Visa and Mastercard by creating a fully independent, Europe-wide digital infrastructure. This historic alliance aims to redirect millions of daily transactions to establish a sovereign payment ecosystem for approximately 130 million European consumers.

Infomaniak has transferred the majority of its voting rights to a Swiss public-benefit foundation to permanently safeguard user data privacy. This structural transition ensures that the company's cloud services will remain sovereign, independent, and committed to their core privacy values.

Mozilla has urged UK regulators to recognize VPNs as essential tools for protecting online privacy and security. The company made its case to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology during ongoing consultations regarding digital safety measures for young people.

OpenAI and the Government of Malta have partnered to provide all Maltese citizens with access to ChatGPT Plus. The initiative also includes dedicated training programs to help residents build practical AI skills and use the technology responsibly.

The UK government has replaced its use of Palantir software with a newly developed, internally built IT system for managing refugee data. Officials stated that the in-house solution offers greater flexibility while maintaining high security standards.

Driven by a desire for digital sovereignty, the author details their experience migrating their tech stack to European cloud providers. The piece examines this shift away from US tech giants and argues that Europe's cloud infrastructure has matured into a highly capable and competitive alternative.

The European Union is investigating social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram over their addictive design features that target children. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the crackdown to address how these apps allow minors to go down rabbit holes of harmful content.

A new technical report details the launch of AMÁLIA, an open-source large language model specifically designed for European Portuguese. This release marks a significant milestone in regional AI development and sets a promising direction for the future of specialized language models across Europe.

The first element of the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel has been successfully immersed, marking a major milestone for the ambitious engineering project. Once fully completed, the underwater structure will set a new global record as the longest immersed tunnel in the world.

The European Parliamentary Research Service has identified VPNs as a loophole that allows users to bypass online age-verification systems. The organization is urging policymakers to close this gap to ensure stricter enforcement of digital age restrictions.

More than three decades after the fall of communism left the country in economic ruins, Poland has undergone a remarkable transformation. The nation has now officially secured its position as the twentieth largest economy in the world.

A recent DNSSEC disruption affecting .de domains has been officially resolved, restoring normal operations for the German top-level domain. System status updates confirm that the incident has been closed and all services are currently functioning normally.

Beginning in 2027, a new European Union regulation will require all smartphones sold in the region to feature removable batteries. This mandate represents a major shift in modern device design for manufacturers. For users, the change means they will once again easily be able to swap out their own power cells to extend the life of their devices.

Residential heat pump sales across 11 European countries increased by 17% in the first quarter of 2026, according to the European Heat Pump Association. This growth was driven by soaring gas and oil prices following Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz in March.

California will begin issuing traffic tickets directly to the manufacturers of autonomous vehicles when their self-driving cars violate traffic laws. Under the new regulations, police will hold the automakers financially responsible for the infractions rather than the passengers inside the vehicle. This policy shift places the ultimate burden of safety and compliance squarely on the companies developing autonomous technology.

Belgium has reversed its retirement policy to keep its nuclear power plants operational, a move that has ignited intense online debate over the future of clean energy. Commenters argue over the economic viability and safety of nuclear power compared to renewables, with some emphasizing the necessity of existing nuclear fleets to meet climate goals while others highlight the plummeting costs of solar and wind. The discussion underscores the ongoing global challenge of balancing energy security, climate action, and the financial realities of power generation.