Presidente da Microsoft: "Queremos que a Europa saiba que pode contar connosco"
"Queremos que a Europa saiba que pode contar connosco", disse o Presidente da Microsoft, Brad Smith, a Angela Barnes no último episódio de The Big Question.
LEIA MAIS : http://pt.euronews.com/2025/05/12/presidente-da-microsoft-queremos-que-a-europa-saiba-que-pode-contar-connosco
Subscreva, euronews está disponível em 12 línguas.
"Queremos que a Europa saiba que pode contar connosco", disse o Presidente da Microsoft, Brad Smith, a Angela Barnes no último episódio de The Big Question.
LEIA MAIS : http://pt.euronews.com/2025/05/12/presidente-da-microsoft-queremos-que-a-europa-saiba-que-pode-contar-connosco
Subscreva, euronews está disponível em 12 línguas.
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00:00We want to be a bridge across the Atlantic.
00:02They're not built on wheels.
00:04They're not going anywhere.
00:05And we want our European customers to know
00:07that they can count on Microsoft.
00:15Welcome to The Big Question,
00:18a series from Euronews where we speak
00:19to some of the most influential people
00:22in the world of business.
00:24And today we're joined by Brad Smith,
00:27the Vice Chair and President of Microsoft.
00:30Brad, it's an absolute pleasure
00:31to have you with us on the show.
00:33Thank you very much for joining us.
00:35Thank you for having me.
00:36You've recently announced Microsoft's
00:38five digital commitments to Europe.
00:42So first of all, can you just tell us about those?
00:44Our main point is we want Europe to know
00:47and we want our European customers to know
00:49that they can count on us.
00:51They can count on Microsoft.
00:53We want and we even think we need
00:55to be a force for, say, digital stability
00:58in a time of geopolitical volatility.
01:02So for us, it means protecting cybersecurity,
01:05protecting privacy,
01:06ensuring Europe's digital resilience,
01:09continuing to build out our infrastructure,
01:11our data centers across Europe,
01:13and ensuring that they help boost
01:15European competitiveness
01:16across every part of the economy.
01:18Why is Europe so important
01:20to Microsoft's business plan?
01:23I don't think Microsoft would be
01:25the global success it is today
01:27without our longstanding presence in Europe.
01:30My first job at the company
01:31was in 1993, based in Paris.
01:35And the truth is,
01:36it's more than a quarter
01:37of our global business.
01:39The European countries are so important.
01:41There's so much innovation that happens here.
01:43I just want to pick up on the AI and cloud ecosystem point
01:54that's in the digital commitments to Europe.
01:56How can the cloud and AI infrastructure
01:58help Europe's economic competitiveness?
02:01Well, when you think about Europe's strength
02:04as an economy,
02:05one of the things that we've always appreciated
02:07is what we think of as great domain expertise.
02:10pharmaceuticals or machine tools
02:13or chemicals or automobiles
02:15or many other things,
02:17European companies are leaders.
02:19But if you look to the future,
02:21it will take more digital technology,
02:23it will take more cloud services,
02:25it will take more AI
02:26to keep all of these industries
02:28at the forefront of global competitiveness.
02:31And that's where our investments across Europe,
02:34we believe, are quite important.
02:36Do you think giant companies like Microsoft, of course,
02:38have a duty to do something
02:40to help Europe's struggling competitiveness?
02:42I think that's why we're in business.
02:45It is to provide technology
02:46that will make others,
02:48individuals and organizations,
02:51more successful.
02:52And in the world of business,
02:54that means boosting productivity growth,
02:56but it also means driving innovation.
02:58And that's where AI in particular,
03:00I think, is, as we like to say,
03:02the next great general purpose technology,
03:04like electricity,
03:06it will reshape every part of the economy.
03:08And that is our responsibility,
03:10I think, to serve as a resource
03:13for every part of Europe.
03:15And that's why we are expanding
03:18our infrastructure across Europe.
03:20Yes, indeed.
03:20And you're planning to expand
03:21European data center capacity
03:23by 40% over the next two years
03:26in 16 countries.
03:27How many jobs can we expect that to create?
03:30As we build these data centers,
03:32and we will have more than 200
03:34in these 16 countries by 2027.
03:38That creates a huge number of jobs
03:40in skilled labor, in construction,
03:43the whole supply chain,
03:44everything that goes into
03:45all of this infrastructure.
03:47But what really matters
03:48is I think more than that,
03:50it's the multiplier effect.
03:53It's what our customers are able to do
03:55with this technology.
03:56technology, this is really designed
03:58to help fuel their growth.
04:00It is, I think, an engine of growth
04:02for what we like to describe
04:04as an AI economy,
04:05the economies of the world
04:07in an AI era.
04:08And Brad, as you expand
04:10in these other areas,
04:12you're also saying you will uphold
04:13Europe's digital resilience
04:15even when there's
04:16geopolitical volatility.
04:17Should Europe be relying more
04:19on European homegrown companies,
04:21do you think,
04:21to build its resilience?
04:22Well, I think that Europe
04:25will want a variety of resources
04:27on which to rely.
04:29And European governments
04:30use more taxpayer money
04:32to invest in creating
04:34or subsidizing homegrown alternatives.
04:36That's their decision to make.
04:37We think we have a role
04:38to play as well.
04:40And we'll collaborate
04:41with governments
04:42regardless of where they invest.
04:45The Draghi report itself
04:46really called out the importance
04:48and the opportunity
04:49of also using this American technology.
04:52And by building it here,
04:54I always like to say
04:55these are huge facilities.
04:57They're not built on wheels.
04:59They're not going anywhere.
05:01They will be regulated
05:02by local laws,
05:03local regulations.
05:04We have to constantly earn
05:06the license to grow,
05:08if you will.
05:09And we're committed
05:10to doing that.
05:12Brad, some fear
05:13that the Trump administration
05:15could compel companies
05:16like Microsoft
05:17to provide access
05:18to sensitive European data.
05:20And I know you have pledged
05:22to take legal action
05:23if governments try
05:24to seize EU data.
05:26Is that going to be
05:27a tough one to balance, though?
05:30I actually don't think
05:31it will be.
05:32I know that there is a concern
05:33when I have gone
05:35to the White House,
05:35as I have,
05:36and I've shared with them
05:39the fact that this is
05:40a concern in Europe.
05:41Every single person
05:42I've talked to has said,
05:44we've never even heard
05:45of that idea.
05:46but we understand
05:47that we need
05:48to address it,
05:50and we have.
05:51And that's why we've said
05:52we are going to put
05:53into our contracts
05:55with European national governments
05:56and with the European Commission
05:58a contractual obligation
06:00so that if we ever received
06:02an order anywhere in the world
06:03that would cause us
06:05or try to force us
06:06to suspend operations,
06:08say, in Europe,
06:09we would go to court
06:10to contest it.
06:11I have every confidence
06:13that we would prevail in court.
06:15But we've also said
06:16that if we did not,
06:18we'll have a backup group
06:20of suppliers,
06:22partners here in Europe.
06:23We'll have our code,
06:24our software code
06:25and our source code
06:26stored in a secure repository
06:28in Switzerland.
06:29Basically,
06:30we want to allay
06:31people's concerns.
06:33I think we have a solution
06:34that does that.
06:34The EU says
06:36that targeting
06:37American tech companies
06:38is one of the cards
06:40that it could play
06:41in retaliation
06:41to Donald Trump's tariffs.
06:43How would you respond to that?
06:45Well,
06:46we want to be a bridge
06:47across the Atlantic.
06:49I think business
06:50can and should be a bridge
06:53across the Atlantic.
06:55But at the end of the day,
06:56governments need
06:56to make their own decisions
06:57and that will be true
06:59in Europe
06:59as well as the United States.
07:01We will take whatever comes
07:02and we'll help
07:03our customers adapt
07:04and will adapt.
07:06But mostly,
07:07I want us to be
07:09a voice of reason,
07:10a voice that encourages
07:12the ties across the Atlantic
07:15that have been indispensable
07:17for eight decades now
07:19since the end
07:20of the Second World War
07:22to prevail,
07:23to use this
07:24as an opportunity
07:25for all of us
07:26in a way to step back
07:27and then recommit.
07:29Let's address the issues
07:30that bother people
07:31on either side
07:33of the Atlantic.
07:34But let's not forget
07:35how important
07:36these ties are,
07:37including for business.
07:39Indeed.
07:40Well, Brad Smith,
07:40thank you ever so much
07:42for sharing your insights
07:43with us.
07:43It's been an absolute pleasure
07:44to have you on
07:45The Big Question.
07:46Well, thank you.
07:46It is a big question.
07:47It really is.
07:49Thank you very much.
07:50Thank you.
07:50Thank you.