Thierry Breton Unveils Ambitious 10-Point Plan to Boost Europe's Strategic Autonomy

Thierry Breton, the former European Commissioner for the Internal Market, has proposed a comprehensive five-year program aimed at reducing Europe’s dependencies on external powers, particularly the United States. In a detailed interview on January 25, 2026, Breton outlined his "10 chantiers" — strategic focus areas designed to enhance Europe's competitiveness and autonomy across key sectors including finance, space, critical materials, energy, technology, and defense.

Central to Breton’s plan is reducing Europe's reliance on dominant payment processors like Visa and Mastercard, highlighting the urgency of financial sovereignty. Additionally, he stressed autonomy in space technologies, energy—especially nuclear power, cloud computing, and semiconductor manufacturing. These priorities are drawn from insights in Mario Draghi's 2024 report "The Future of European Competitiveness," which calls for bolstered EU investment capacity to maintain global competitiveness.

Breton emphasized the necessity of this strategic shift, noting, “It’s a five-year program. We need to give ourselves the means, but I think it’s possible.” His call for action comes amid a shifting international environment that, in his view, no longer abides by the stable legal frameworks of the past. He remarked, "The blessed era where international relations were governed by laws that we respected is behind us," highlighting the need for a more assertive European stance.

Adding a personal facet to the geopolitical tensions, Breton revealed he was targeted by the Trump administration, which revoked his US visa on December 23 due to his regulatory role overseeing major tech companies within the EU. "I was punished because I did my job as a commissioner to ensure that certain rules were in place in the informational space to protect our children, our democracies, our citizens," he said.

Breton’s initiative seeks to foster a Europe that is less dependent and more resilient, urging European policymakers and industries to mobilize within this ambitious five-year timeframe to realize these strategic imperatives.