Europe Worries Trump Poses Threat to Its Financial and Tech Sovereignty

European leaders are increasingly concerned about threats to their financial and technological sovereignty in 2025, as foreign payment systems dominate their economies and many nations lack domestic alternatives. According to the European Central Bank, nearly two-thirds of all transactions in eurozone countries were processed by American companies Mastercard and Visa in 2025. This heavy reliance on foreign payment infrastructure has raised significant security and economic concerns among European policymakers. The situation is particularly acute in at least 13 European nations, including Austria, Spain, and Ireland, which have no nationally controlled options for in-store or online digital payments, leaving their economies vulnerable to external pressures and potential disruptions. This dependency on non-European payment networks represents a fundamental challenge to Europe's ambition for technological and financial autonomy, with digital payments becoming increasingly central to modern economies.