The European Union is preparing to introduce strict new criteria for cloud computing services in highly critical state tenders, a protectionist shift that could effectively exclude major American providers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google from lucrative public sector projects. According to internal documents, the restrictions will target sensitive sectors such as banking, energy, and healthcare as part of a broader push for continental data independence. (Reuters)
The aggressive proposal is embedded within the European Commission’s upcoming Cloud and AI Development Act, which EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen is scheduled to officially unveil on Wednesday. The legislative push forms the centerpiece of a comprehensive tech sovereignty package engineered to systematically reduce Europe’s dependence on foreign infrastructure while actively promoting domestic digital businesses.
A primary driver behind these stringent sovereignty requirements is growing European anxiety over foreign surveillance. Under the United States CLOUD Act, American law enforcement authorities can legally compel US-based technology companies to hand over stored data, even if that data is hosted entirely on servers located overseas within European borders. By enforcing strict local governance rules, EU policymakers aim to block any potential unlawful access to citizens’ and governments’ sensitive records.
The draft proposal introduces mandatory non-price award criteria for government contracts to structurally disadvantage foreign hyperscalers. Rather than allowing state agencies to simply select the lowest bidder, the rules would require tenders to heavily favor software and hardware developed natively within the European Union.
While the European Commission declined to comment on the specific text of the leaked draft, officials defended the initiative, stating that the tech sovereignty package is crucial for strengthening Europe’s own technological capacities, long-term competitiveness, and security.
The ambitious plan must still secure formal backing from individual EU member states and the European Parliament in the coming months before passing into law. The initiative is expected to draw immediate, sharp backlash from Washington. The United States government has grown increasingly critical of Brussels’ recent legislative efforts to rein in Big Tech dominance and aggressively police foreign digital platforms.
