Last month, the European Union (EU) announced a €180 million commitment to “sovereign cloud services” distributed over 6 years. The goal is for Europe to enhance its own sovereignty,” while “reinforcing strategic control across key technologies and infrastructure.” This allows Europe to move away from US-based hyperscalers, which have dominated the sector. While US firms are not blocked, the move indicates an intent to build homegrown alternatives.
The four providers receiving the funds include:
- Post Telecom, with its partners CleverCloud and OVHcloud,
- STACKIT,
- Scaleway
- Proximus, which partners with S3NS (a joint venture of Thales and Google Cloud), Clarence, and Mistral
The EU explains that using the EU cloud is a prerequisite for improving the EU’s digital sovereignty.
“The Commission leads by example, as the Sovereign Cloud call for tenders sets a new benchmark for what ‘sovereign’ means in practice for cloud services.”
The Commission noted that it is also preparing the Tech Sovereignty package.
It is well known that Europe has fallen behind in the tech sector, with few large tech firms emerging in recent years, while tech is booming in America. Much of the growth in the US is due to the wide availability of private capital, fewer regulations, and better tax incentives.
Tony O’Sullivan, CEO of RETN- a large independent internet backbone operator, with a network spanning 40+ countries, believes the move is good for Europe as it indicates real intent for Europe to take control of its critical digital infrastructure. O’Sullivan adds that the next step is to ensure connectivity keeps pace, because that’s what ultimately determines performance, resilience, and control.
“True sovereignty doesn’t stop at where data is stored. It requires not only cloud infrastructure, but the routes between data centers, countries, and users to be equally as resilient and independent. That’s where sovereignty is tested day to day, not just in policy, but in how traffic actually flows. Without that, the picture is only half complete,” said O’Sullivan. “Undoubtedly, the bloc will continue to work towards keeping all EU data within its borders. But the reality is, traffic is always flowing and ever-increasing, especially as AI advances. As more of that movement stays within Europe, the pressure shifts onto the internet backbone. If that layer isn’t scaled and coordinated properly, it becomes the constraint.”
What the EU has yet to address is the need for greater incentives for private capital and entrepreneurs to build an innovation-driven economy, especially in the hot artificial intelligence sector. Member state fragmentation, heavy regulation, and a risk-averse culture are undermining Europe’s ability to innovate