Amazon Web Services expands its sovereign cloud to Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal, offering EU clients data control amid concerns over US CLOUD Act access.
FRANKFURT: Amazon Web Services (AWS) will expand its sovereign cloud infrastructure across the European Union.
The cloud computing division announced on Thursday it would extend its physical operations into Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal.
This builds on an existing sovereign cloud site in eastern Germany.
The expansion aims to provide organisations with more options for deploying workloads with high levels of sovereignty and operational independence.
The move capitalises on a push by EU leaders for greater digital sovereignty and reduced reliance on American technology.
Concerns have intensified under the administration of US President Donald Trump, which has adopted a more confrontational stance towards the EU.
The US CLOUD Act further mandates that companies must hand over data if requested by American authorities.
Stephane Israel, AWS’s head of European Sovereign Cloud, said the company is building a cloud that is European in infrastructure, operations and governance.
He stated this empowers organisations to innovate while maintaining complete control over their digital assets.
However, Professor Harald Wehnes from the University of Wuerzburg criticised the announcement as “sovereignty washing”.
He noted the US CLOUD Act means data stored with American cloud companies can still be accessed by US authorities, even from European servers.
Wehnes argued that using a European cloud provider like IONOS, Hetzner or Noris Network avoids this legal exposure.
Amazon’s rivals, including Microsoft, also offer European data storage options.
German software giant SAP announced a EUR 20 billion investment into cloud computing for data sovereignty efforts last September.
