The US hyperscaler says it is physically and logically separate from other AWS regions – Dedicated Local Zones in Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal expected to follow
Amazon has launched the AWS European Sovereign Cloud in Europe two and a quarter years after it announced plans to do so, in November 2023. As the global geopolitical situation becomes ever more fraught, including strained relations between Europe and the US, regulators and users alike are pushing for sovereign cloud solutions. In a survey by Gartner, published in November 2025, 61% of Western European CIOs and IT leaders who responded said geopolitical factors will increase their reliance on local or regional cloud providers.
AWS’ sovereign response
This is prompting US cloudcos to take sovereignty mighty seriously, not least because of the size of the European market: according other research by Gartner last November, Europe’s IT spending will rise by 11% this year to reach $1.4 trillion (€1.202 trillion). John-David Lovelock, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner, noted, “Cloud investments in Europe will be more turbulent in 2026 as CIOs focus on digital sovereignty and move their cloud services closer to home“. Gartner projects end-user public cloud services spending to grow 24% in 2026.
AWS’ European Sovereign Cloud, which opened for business today, is based in Brandenburg, Germany although it was originally due to open by the end of 2025. Germany is widely regarded as having one of the strictest data privacy regimes in the world. The plan is to expand AWS sovereign offer into ‘Dedicated Local Zones’ within the EU, starting with Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal.
Amazon said in a press release today that the new sovereign cloud is “physically and logically separate” from other AWS regions, and will be run by a new, dedicated company, in Brandenburg, that will be subject to European Union (EU) regulation and run by EU citizens. Apparently the long-term goal is that operations will be run solely by EU citizens.
Hefty investments
In May 2024, six months after the initial announcement, AWS said it would invest €7.8 billion in the AWS European Sovereign Cloud in Germany up to 2040. The build began in June 2025. In the May 2024 announcement, AWS claimed its investment is estimated to contribute €17.2 billion to Germany’s total gross domestic product (GDP) up to 2040, and support an average 2,800 full-time equivalent jobs in local German businesses each year. This includes jobs in construction, facility maintenance, engineering, telecoms, and others as part of the AWS data centre supply chain.
It also claimed that since 2010, Amazon has invested more than €150 billion in the EU and employs more than 150,000 people in permanent roles across the European Single Market.
Microsoft and Azure
Last April, Microsoft said it would resist any US government order to halt data centre operations in Europe as it tried to calm European concerns that escalating trans-Atlantic tensions could lead to service disruptions. Microsoft had stated that it would challenge and resist “unfounded” requests and try to notify affected customers if requests were made to hand over data by US authorities but in July it was obliged to acknowledge in a French Senate hearing that it would be obliged to comply with a US request for data held in Europe that was legally justified.
In November, Microsoft announced, “A new wave of sovereignty capabilities for Europe and Switzerland, including expanded AI services within the EU Data Boundary, and enhanced infrastructure options for private cloud deployments.
Google launched its first sovereign cloud hub in Munich, Germany, last November, which it couched in terms of being “to accelerate European innovation”. The press release said, “Google Cloud has been committed to advancing digital sovereignty for nearly a decade, empowering customers with control and choice in the cloud. Google Cloud today offers the industry’s broadest portfolio of sovereign cloud solutions – Google Cloud Data Boundary, Google Cloud Dedicated, and Google Cloud Air-Gapped – which provide organizations with complete control and data sovereignty without compromising innovation.”
Sovereignty is not a simple issue
The European Union (EU) has huge concerns about the dominance of US hyperscalers in the European cloud market and the potential of US authorities demanding access to data, including European citizens’ personal data, such as through the Cloud Act.
However, the issue of overseas authorities is a thorny one and not just between the US and EU either: France’s OVHcloud, which has a Canadian subsidiary, found itself in an invidious position when a Canadian court demanded OVHcloud handed over some customers’ data stored in Europe as part of a criminal investigation. See this article in The Register.
Further, sovereignty is not only about where data is stored, but who can access it, from where, for what purposes. Sovereignty of data in transit is also shooting up the agenda – for example to govern where data is rerouted in the event of a failure.
