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The European Union and Google have had a complicated relationship for years. On the one hand, most Europeans are more or less dependent on the services of the giant from Mountain View, on the other hand, the company's activities regularly become the subject of proceedings, penalties and regulatory disputes conducted by Brussels. Therefore, the European Parliament wants to set an example to Europe that you can distance yourself from Google - at least when it comes to the default Internet search tool.

The European Parliament decided to abandon Google in favor of the French search engine Qwant

The European Parliament has decided to change the default search engine on the work computers of its employees. From June 4, Google will be replaced by the French search engine Qwant, which will support queries entered in the address bar of Firefox and Microsoft Edge browsers.

The information was revealed by the Politico website, which obtained internal correspondence sent to MEPs and employees of the institution. The message stressed that the decision was taken in line with the European Parliament's commitment to promoting digital sovereignty and protecting users' personal data.

Qwant is the European alternative to Google

Qwant has been operating since 2013 and has positioned itself as a privacy-focused search engine from the beginning. The company declares that it does not track users and does not collect their personal data in a manner typical of advertising models used by the largest players on the Internet market.

The change does not mean a complete block of Google services. European Parliament staff will still be able to visit the Google search website or set it as their default search tool themselves. However, the new setting will be active on work computers from the moment the decision is implemented.

Technological sovereignty is becoming increasingly important for the EU

The European Parliament's decision coincided with the European Commission's preparations to present the technological sovereignty package. The aim of the initiative is to reduce dependence on foreign technology suppliers and support European companies operating in the digital sector.

The discussion on technological independence has been going on in Brussels for many months. Last November, a group of 38 MEPs from various political groups sent a letter to the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola. The authors of the document called for a gradual abandonment of Microsoft software and other foreign technological solutions, arguing that dependence on a small group of American giants may pose a strategic risk for Europe.

Member States are also taking similar actions. France plans to migrate some public administration positions from Windows to Linux, as well as to develop domestic alternatives to foreign communication platforms used by officials. In turn, in Germany, government institutions abandoned Microsoft products - Windows and Microsoft 365 (formerly Office) - in favor of free Linuxa and LibreOffice. Austria and Denmark are considering following suit.