How Europe is confronting its digital dependency problem

Date:
Tue, 31 Mar 2026 14:15:59 +0000

Description:
As reliance on US cloud giants grows, Europe faces a pivotal moment for digital sovereignty.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Pro Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member features. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are
now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Join the club Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Until relatively recently, digital
sovereignty wasnt at the top of the European political or regulatory agenda. Yes, it was seen as an important issue, but five years ago it didn't have anything like the profile or sense of urgency we see today.

Indeed, momentum behind the creation of sovereign EU cloud infrastructure is accelerating rapidly, with Novembers Franco-German summit the latest effort
to further develop key aspects of an independent, secure and innovation-friendly digital future for Europe. Mark Dando Social Links Navigation

General Manager for EMEA North at SUSE. At the same time, European stakeholders across public and private sectors are reassessing their dependence on external providers, particularly the US hyperscalers, and the long-term implications for security , governance and competitiveness. Article continues below You may like Who really controls your data? The test of sovereign cloud Data sovereignty: not just an issue for governments Europes digital infrastructure is running out of room in its traditional centers

The core issues have become so pressing that the continent now faces a
pivotal moment in deciding how it wants to manage and govern its digital future. The current situation How did we arrive at this point? European organizations have spent years relying on large non-EU technology providers. To an extent, this is understandable.

The likes of AWS, Microsoft and Google have compelling infrastructure propositions which have revolutionized the cloud industry and brought massive benefits to customers wherever they are.

What most European customers also did was assume that local hosting, contractual safeguards and regional compliance measures were sufficient to meet sovereignty requirements. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter
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That perspective was undermined when Microsoft confirmed to the French Senate earlier this year that data stored within the EU may still fall under foreign jurisdiction, calling into question the residency-based model that many had trusted.

In particular, US legal mandates such as the CLOUD Act can, in fact, override geographic boundaries, raising concerns about how much control European organizations truly retain.

Adding to the problem is that the way organizations manage their data and consume cloud services has also evolved. Enterprise environments are now more fragmented than ever before, with unstructured data now dominating and spreading across clouds, applications and jurisdictions in ways that are difficult to track. What to read next Dozens of European cloud CEOs call for real tech sovereignty ahead of Cloud and AI Development Act Five myths about sovereign cloud that could put your business at risk How AI, digital sovereignty and data localization are reshaping European data strategies

Hybrid and multi-cloud adoption has accelerated this complexity, reducing visibility into where data sits and which legal frameworks govern it.

The result is that digital sovereignty has morphed from a conceptual aspiration into an operational and strategic concern. Organizations can no longer kick the can down the road. Building for the future Clearly, the current position is not sustainable. According to a 2025 industry report,
AWS, Azure and Google Cloud together hold about 70% of the European infrastructure cloud market, while all European-headquartered cloud providers combined account for roughly 15%.

From a sovereignty perspective, Europe needs digital solutions that are both localized and scalable, rather than niche or limited-adoption offerings. Providers operating in Europe are expected to build technologies that are competitive with global alternatives while still meeting sovereignty expectations.

However, this isnt just a matter of unlocking infrastructure investment. Sovereignty cannot be achieved in isolation; collaboration across the
European technology ecosystem is essential, including partnerships between organizations that may not have traditionally worked together.

Our recent partnership with evroc, is a good example, as we join forces to deliver secure, sovereign European cloud infrastructure.

For example, customers need better visibility of the European options available to them, as many remain unaware of the strength and maturity of home-grown solutions

Sovereignty also requires the ability to evaluate providers objectively,
using clear criteria that reflect jurisdictional control, supply-chain transparency and operational independence.

On a practical level, the EU Cloud Sovereignty Framework serves as an essential reference point, providing organizations with a structured way to assess levels of sovereignty and make more informed decisions.

Ideally, this will also help create a more level playing field in cloud procurement, ensuring that suitable European providers are considered rather than overlooked by default.

Looking ahead, maintaining positive momentum will be vital. Notwithstanding the emergence of new sovereign cloud infrastructure, organizations cannot achieve meaningful sovereignty unless they retain dependable control over their data.

The core challenge is not just where data is stored but whether organizations can govern how it is used, moved and accessed across different environments.

In this context, it is essential to implement tools and processes that enable them to enforce policies such as residency, access controls and retention rules in a precise and verifiable manner.

This approach places sovereignty as much in the realm of governance and ongoing operational discipline as in infrastructure investment or regulatory reform. In the years ahead, Europes ability to strengthen sovereignty will hinge on whether organizations can guarantee control over their data throughout its lifecycle, not just at the point of storage. We've featured
the best business cloud storage. This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and
brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here
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