EU Digital Sovereignty in Central Europe: The Case of Czechia and Hungary
The concept of digital sovereignty has become a key pillar of the EU’s digital and regulatory agenda, but member states interpret and apply it in very different ways — as illustrated by the contrasting approaches of Hungary and Czechia. New research by Asya Metodieva, Daniel Šitera, and Jakub Eberle from the Institute of International Relations Prague, published in the Journal of Contemporary European Studies, examines how these two countries have each adapted, or strategically exploited, EU digital frameworks.
The European Union has placed digital sovereignty at the centre of its strategic agenda, linking it to issues of democracy, security, and economic resilience. Member states do not always interpret or implement this concept uniformly. Research by Asya Metodieva, Daniel Šitera, and Jakub Eberle brings together two cases that highlight how smaller Central European countries adapt to or instrumentalise EU frameworks. Examining Hungary and Czechia side by side reveals how both regimes manoeuvre within the EU’s regulatory landscape, but with divergent political intentions.
Hungary: strategic exploitation of EU platform regulations
In Digital sovereignty contested: Hungary’s strategic use of EU platform regulations, Asya Metodieva demonstrates how Hungary, classified as an electoral autocracy, selectively employs the Digital Services Act (DSA) and related frameworks to reinforce government control over media and digital spaces. While formally aligning itself with EU regulations, Hungary has created a highly centralised media environment, where the state deploys laws such as the Sovereignty Protection Act and selectively interprets hate speech and disinformation provisions to silence critics. The study shows that EU legislation, intended to safeguard democracy, can paradoxically be co-opted by illiberal regimes to consolidate power, undermining pluralism and freedom of expression.
Czechia: quiet selective adaptation to EU digital politics
In Diluting digital sovereignty: Czechia’s quiet selective adaptation to EU digital politics, Daniel Šitera and Jakub Eberle examine why the concept of digital sovereignty is largely absent from Czech political discourse. Unlike Hungary’s overt contestation, Czechia has practised a strategy of quiet bureaucratic adaptation. While sceptical of protectionist or over-regulatory interpretations of digital sovereignty, Czech officials gradually reframed it under the banner of “open strategic autonomy.” This approach allowed Czechia to support EU initiatives like the DSA while avoiding public debate and maintaining its long-standing commitment to free trade and external technological partnerships. The article highlights how small and dependent states in the EU negotiate their positions through low-profile bureaucratic politics rather than public confrontation