Europe must not cede digital sphere to US, China, warns Germany's Merz

BERLIN (Reuters) -German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday called on Europe to take swift action to avoid ceding the increasingly important digital sphere to the United States and China in future.

"The tectonic shifts we are currently witnessing in the world, in the political and economic centres of power, demand swift action in the digital sphere," he said a digital summit in Berlin on Tuesday attended by French President Emmanuel Macron.

"The questions of the future will be decided predominantly in the digital realm," and the U.S. and China, two digital superpowers, are vying for technological leadership, he said.

"Europe must not cede this field to them."

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke, Writing by Miranda MurrayEditing by Madeline Chambers)