The European Union is investing billions of euros in fundamental and core technologies as part of efforts to strengthen its technological sovereignty and reduce its dependence on the United States and China.

The Fraunhofer Institute, a state-backed German research agency, defines technological sovereignty as the ability of a state to provide technologies that it considers critical to its welfare, competitiveness and ability to act, and be able to develop them without unilateral structural dependence.

Europe is currently heavily dependent on foreign technology, but the continent's leaders want to change that.

Strengthening Europe's digital sovereignty is a key component of our digital strategy, a representative from the European Commission told CNBC.

However, Europe is currently lagging behind when it comes to critical technology infrastructures such as semiconductors and ultra-fast telecommunications networks.