Recent crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and rising geopolitical tensions, have highlighted Europe's dependence on global supply chains in critical sectors such as healthcare. This dependence affects not only medicines and vaccines, but also medical devices and the technologies required for their production. In this context, technological sovereignty has emerged as a key strategic issue, particularly at the intersection of public health and security.
The article provides a structured reflection on this concept as applied to healthcare, emphasizing that the goal is not complete self-sufficiency, but rather the capacity to access, produce, and deploy critical technologies in times of crisis. The authors identify several complementary dimensions of technological sovereignty, including control over knowledge, technologies, industrial capabilities, and supply chains.
To operationalize this concept, they propose an evaluation framework designed to assess the level of technological sovereignty within a healthcare system or industrial sector. This framework is based on a set of indicators addressing key aspects such as:
- dependence on imports
- geographical distribution of production capacities
- control over critical technologies
- resilience of supply chains
- innovation capacity.
This tool is intended to support decision-makers in identifying critical vulnerabilities and prioritizing investments. It also enables comparisons across sectors or strategies, thereby informing policy choices in industrial and research domains.
The article highlights concrete use cases, particularly in the field of critical medical products, where limited diversification of supply sources can lead to major shortages during crises. It also stresses the need to strengthen European capabilities in biomanufacturing, vaccine development, and emerging health technologies.
Finally, the authors advocate for a coordinated approach at the European level, integrating both civilian and defence dimensions. They call for stronger alignment between health policies, industrial strategies, and security frameworks, in order to build genuine European technological sovereignty.
Contact : Renaud Laffourcade ; Yannick Saintigny