Amazon expands EU sovereign cloud to Belgium, Netherlands, Portugal amid US data

FRANKFURT, Jan 15 — Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced on Thursday it will expand its sovereign cloud infrastructure to Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal, offering EU clients greater data control amid concerns over US legal access.

The expansion builds on an existing sovereign cloud site in eastern Germany and aims to provide organizations with more options for deploying workloads with high levels of sovereignty and operational independence.

The move capitalizes 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 toward the EU.

The US CLOUD Act mandates that companies must hand over data if requested by American authorities.

"We are building a cloud that is European in infrastructure, operations and governance," Stephane Israel, AWS's head of European Sovereign Cloud, said.

"This empowers organizations to innovate while maintaining complete control over their digital assets," he stated.

However, Professor Harald Wehnes from the University of Wuerzburg criticized 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.