EURO-3C announced at MWC 2026, reinforcing Europe’s push for digital sovereignty
The EURO-3C project was officially announced at Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona, marking a significant milestone in Europe’s efforts to develop sovereign digital infrastructure based on federated Telco-Edge-Cloud capabilities.
The announcement was made at the Telefónica stand, in the presence of representatives from the European Commission and industry leaders. EURO-3C brings together more than 70 European organisations under a Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Action, with a total investment of approximately €75 million.
The project aims to build the first large-scale, federated and open European infrastructure integrating telecommunications networks, edge computing, cloud platforms and AI-driven orchestration. It is designed to support Europe’s digital and industrial transformation by enabling secure, interoperable and high-performance distributed computing services.
At its core, EURO-3C is structured around a federated model connecting multiple operators and cloud providers into a common European framework. This approach is intended to reduce fragmentation in the current infrastructure landscape and strengthen Europe’s ability to compete in AI, cloud and advanced connectivity markets.
The infrastructure will be deployed in production environments across more than 13 European countries, comprising over 70 edge and cloud nodes. It will support nine large-scale use cases targeting strategic sectors such as automotive, transport, energy and public safety, demonstrating real-world applicability and scalability.
A key feature of the project is its focus on interoperability and open ecosystems. EURO-3C actively contributes to international standardisation and open-source initiatives, helping align European innovation with global frameworks while reinforcing technological sovereignty objectives.
The MWC announcement highlighted the collaborative nature of the initiative, bringing together telecom operators, cloud providers, vendors, research organisations and SMEs. This broad participation reflects a shared European ambition to develop a secure and competitive digital infrastructure foundation for the coming decade.
Telefonica (project coordinator) Press Release: https://www.telefonica.com/en/communication-room/press-room/europe-takes-a-decisive-step-towards-digital-sovereignty-with-the-launch-of-euro-3c/
