Last month, European Union The (EU) announced a commitment of €180 million:sovereign cloud services“Spread over 6 years. The aim is to strengthen strategic control over key technologies and infrastructure” while “developing Europe’s own sovereignty.” This allows Europe to move away from the US-based hyperscalers that dominate the industry. While US companies are not blocked, this move shows the intention to create domestic alternatives.
The four providers receiving funding include:
- Post Telecomtogether with partners CleverCloud and OVHcloud,
- STACKIT,
- Scale way
- NextS3NS (joint venture of Thales and Google Cloud), in partnership with Clarence and Mistral
EU, using the EU cloud A prerequisite for advancing the EU’s digital sovereignty.
“The Commission is leading by example as the Sovereign Cloud call for tenders sets a new benchmark for what ‘sovereign’ means in practice for cloud services.”
The commission also stated that it was in the preparation phase. Technology Sovereignty package.
It is well known that Europe is lagging behind in the technology sector, a few large technology companies have emerged in recent years, while technology is developing rapidly in America. Much of the growth in the US is due to the prevalence of private capital, less regulation and better tax incentives.
Tony O’SullivanCEO to continue major independent internet supportAn operator with a network covering more than 40 countries believes that this move is good for Europe because it shows Europe’s true intention to take control of itself. critical digital infrastructure. O’Sullivan adds that the next step is to ensure that the connection keeps pace, because that’s ultimately what determines performance, flexibility and control.
“True sovereignty doesn’t stop where data is stored. It requires not only the cloud infrastructure but also the paths between data centres, countries and users to be equally resilient and independent. This is where sovereignty is tested every day, not just in terms of policy but in terms of how traffic actually flows. Without this, only half the picture is complete,” O’Sullivan said. “Undoubtedly, the bloc will continue to work to keep all EU data within its borders. But the reality is that traffic is always flowing and ever-increasing, especially as artificial intelligence advances. As more of this movement remains within Europe, the pressure shifts to the internet backbone. If this layer is not properly scaled and coordinated, it becomes a 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 AI sector. Fragmentation of member states, burdensome regulations and a culture of risk aversion are undermining Europe’s ability to innovate
