Evaluating the EU's role as a global actor in the digital space

The new Digital Strategy of the European Union (EU) emphasizes the need for a more assertive Union as regards digital leadership, claiming a role of a global actor in terms of digital policies. Moreover, the new policy documents on digital transformation promote the idea European technological sovereignty, thus pointing to a crystallization of a European approach towards digital policies that would be projected on the international stage. The purpose of this article is to investigate the sources of the proclaimed assertiveness of Digital Europe in international affairs. The hypothesis is that it stems from harmonization of legislation claimed by the Digital Single Market. However, the article aims to identify and assess the EU's recognition, authority, autonomy, markers proposed by Jupille and Caporaso (1998), in an approach meant to provide an overview of the EU's actorness in the digital space.