In a nutshell: The European Parliament replaces Google with the French search engine Qwant as its default, signalling implementation of the EU’s strategy for technological sovereignty and data protection.
On 4 June 2026, the European Parliament will switch the default search engine on its service computers from Google to Qwant. The move is part of a broader EU strategy for digital sovereignty and independence from US technology providers.
Parliament’s administration ordered the switch to the French search engine Qwant, founded in 2013, via official email. The changeover is coordinated with a comprehensive initiative from the European Commission: on 3 June 2026, Brussels will present a legislative package on technological sovereignty aimed at reducing the structural dependence of European institutions and companies on non-European tech and cloud providers.
Qwant positions itself as a data protection-compliant alternative to US market leaders: the service forgoes systematic user tracking and permanent storage of personal data. In Parliament, Qwant will be set as the default in Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge browsers, so that search queries are automatically redirected there.
The reconfiguration remains technically reversible: MPs and staff can continue to directly access competing search engines or change their personal browser settings themselves. The step is not an administrative anomaly, but part of a European sovereignty package to reduce US dependence.
Source: www.it-daily.net · Published 3 June 2026
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