- The European Commission is preparing for the upcoming Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA)
- CISPE leaders ask European Technological Sovereignty executive vice president to carefully consider five requests
- Reducing reliance on US hyperscalers could still take years
Twenty-four European cloud chief executives are urging the European Union to ensure that the upcoming Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA) actually protects European sovereignty, rather than simply implementing symbolic gestures.
In the letter addressed to the EU’s executive vice president for technological sovereignty, Henna Virkkunen, the leaders warn of a “washing of sovereignty,” which could actually allow American hyperscalers to continue pushing their dominance.
“This first comprehensive European cloud policy should strengthen Europe’s digital capability by prioritizing the acquisition and investment in sovereign European solutions that foster a competitive cloud ecosystem,” they write.
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CISPE-backed European cloud CEOs push for tech sovereignty
The letter sets out five central demands to Virkkunen: sovereignty by control, where the bloc focuses on ownership, governance and legal protection; resilience where sovereignty may not be possible; procurement quotas reserved for European cloud providers regarding sensitive data; a boost to competition and interoperability; and strategic investments in European companies.
The upcoming CADA aims to address concerns around US hyperscalers, where AWS, Azure and Google Cloud together represent around 70% of the EU cloud market.
On top of that, Microsoft has even stated that it cannot fully guarantee EU data sovereignty on the basis that it must comply with US legal orders.
However, even considering a balance between the upcoming demands of leaders backed by CADA and CISPE, it could take years or even decades for Europe to reach a position where it is no longer dependent on American technology.
“CADA is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to once again put Europe at the forefront of the digital economy, and we must not waste it by legitimizing the ‘washing of sovereignty’,” added CISPE Secretary General Francisco Mingorance.
The European Commission has not yet publicly responded to CISPE’s letter.
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