EU Allocates €180M for Sovereign Cloud Services
The European Commission has announced a €180 million tender aimed at enabling EU entities to procure sovereign cloud services over the next six years. Four European suppliers—Post Telecom with CleverCloud and OVHcloud, STACKIT, Scaleway, and Proximus with partners S3NS, Clarence, and Mistral—have been chosen for their alignment with the Cloud Sovereignty Framework to mitigate dependencies on non-EU providers. The selection process considered strategic, legal, operational, and environmental factors, transparency in supply chains, technological openness, security, and compliance with legislative requirements.
This initiative signifies a major step in enhancing the EU's digital sovereignty by developing a robust local cloud infrastructure that prioritizes regulatory compliance and transparency. The Commission is also working on a revised version of its Cloud Sovereignty Framework and will update sovereignty criteria to optimize offered digital services. This strategic move not only advances the EU's digital agenda but also aims to establish a technological ecosystem that minimizes reliance on external technology providers.