- The European Commission is preparing the upcoming Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA)
- CISPE leaders ask Europe’s EVP for Tech Sovereignty to carefully consider five requests
- Reducing reliance on US hyperscalers could still take years
24 European cloud executives are calling on the EU to ensure that the upcoming Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA) actually protects European sovereignty rather than simply implementing token movements.
In the letter to EU EVP for Tech Sovereignty Henna Virkkunen, the leaders warn of “sovereignty washing”, which may actually allow US hyperscalers to continue to drive their dominance.
“This first comprehensive European cloud policy should strengthen Europe’s digital capabilities by prioritizing procurement and investment in superior European solutions that foster a competitive cloud ecosystem,” they write.
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CISPE-backed European cloud bosses push for technological sovereignty
The letter sets out five core demands for Virkkunen: sovereignty by control, with the bloc focusing on ownership, governance and legal protection; resilience where sovereignty may not be possible; reserved purchasing shares for European cloud providers when it comes to sensitive data; a push for competition and interoperability; and strategic investments in European companies.
The upcoming CADA aims to address concerns about US hyperscalers, with AWS, Azure and Google Cloud together accounting for around 70% of the EU’s cloud market.
In addition, Microsoft has even stated that it cannot fully guarantee the EU’s data sovereignty on the basis that it must comply with US legal orders.
However, even a judicious balance between the requirements of the upcoming CADA and CISPE-backed leaders, it may take years or even decades for Europe to reach a position where it is no longer dependent on US technology.
“CADA is a unique opportunity to put Europe back on the front foot in the digital economy, and we must not squander it by legitimizing ‘sovereignty laundering,'” added CISPE Secretary General Francisco Mingorance.
The European Commission has not yet publicly responded to CISPE’s letter.
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