The European Union’s evolving stance on digital sovereignty is entering a consequential phase as reports emerge of the European Commission seriously weighing a migration of its cloud services from Microsoft Azure to a European provider, potentially OVHcloud. According to investigative reporting by Euractiv and subsequent confirmation from OVHcloud, this high-profile shift, if it comes to fruition, would further accelerate the continent’s ambitions for self-determination in digital infrastructure and data governance. This move would be particularly symbolic given Microsoft’s entrenched position in the European institutional IT ecosystem and its recent overtures to address sovereignty concerns through enhanced controls and localized offerings.
A Wake-Up Call Triggered by International Events
The roots of this renewed push are both strategic and reactive. While sovereignty in technology has long been on the agenda of EU digital policymakers, a recent incident cast the urgency of the issue into sharper relief. The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor, Karim Khan, found himself disconnected from a Microsoft-based email system as a direct outcome of U.S. sanctions. The incident proved a clarion call for European officials: reliance on non-European cloud platforms can suddenly and dramatically undermine the uninterrupted functioning of sensitive international or governmental work.Such events cut to the heart of digital sovereignty—control over data, infrastructure, and services, insulated from external geopolitical levers. For EU institutions, the episode has reportedly underscored the risks of dependence on non-European providers and is being leveraged internally as a justification for pursuing a “Europe first” approach in digital infrastructure decisions.
Digital Sovereignty and the EuroStack Initiative
This ongoing momentum is closely tied to broader strategic initiatives like EuroStack—a multi-pronged plan advocating for collective investments in European IT platforms, interoperable data spaces, continent-wide standards, and common digital strategies. The EuroStack vision, endorsed by various EU digital policymakers, posits that sovereignty over digital infrastructure is not merely idealistic but a necessary response to intensifying global competition and the often extraterritorial reach of foreign laws.If implemented, the Commission’s cloud migration would mark a significant validation of EuroStack objectives. It would also represent a potentially lucrative windfall for the continent’s largest cloud providers—and a reputational blow for Microsoft, which has spent the past year unveiling new assurances, controls, and local infrastructure options for sovereign clients.
Microsoft’s Countermoves: Reassurances and Technical Evolution
Faced with increasing regulatory scrutiny and competitive pressure, Microsoft has sought to reassure European customers on several fronts. The company recently introduced more granular data controls for its public cloud offerings, proposed so-called “sovereign” cloud environments, and announced the possibility for fully isolated, on-premise cloud deployments—specifically tailored for public sector and regulated customers. Additionally, a “local operations” model for its industry-standard MS 365 package is now being offered, in an effort to assuage concerns about cross-border data transfers and third-country law enforcement access.These overtures have not gone unnoticed. They reflect a growing awareness among major U.S. cloud providers that the European market’s requirements are distinct, particularly in their insistence on explicit legal and technical guarantees for data autonomy. Nevertheless, skepticism and regulatory pressure persist.
OVHcloud: A European Contender Steps Forward
OVHcloud, which bills itself as the largest cloud provider headquartered in Europe, confirmed to Euractiv and other outlets that detailed discussions with the Commission are underway. An OVHcloud spokesperson stated, “Discussions are indeed taking place, both with the Commission and with other public and private institutions and organizations that are evaluating projects to migrate to a sovereign cloud.” While one OVHcloud contract with the Commission has reportedly already been concluded, the scope and scale—whether pilot or production—remains opaque.Other regional providers are also reportedly under consideration, indicating that the Commission is casting a wide net. German-based Ionos, France’s Scaleway, and Italy’s Aruba are among the names cited as possible alternatives. What is clear is that a switch away from Azure would constitute a dramatic recalibration of the EU’s digital procurement policy.
Political Alignment, Streamlined Leadership, and the Push for Harmonization
What distinguishes the current moment from prior sovereignty pushes is an internal restructuring within the Commission itself. For the first time, the two departments most crucial to digital policy and infrastructure—DG CONNECT (Communication Networks, Content and Technology) and DG DIGIT (Digital Services)—are jointly reporting to a single Vice-President: Henna Virkkunen. Her brief is explicit: technological sovereignty.This consolidation reportedly makes it easier to bridge policy imperatives with technical implementation, reducing bureaucratic drag and setting unified priorities. In the words of several insiders, this “single command” model enables the European executive to move with an efficiency and clarity that had often eluded prior efforts to synchronize digital sovereignty policies.
The Data Protection Driver: Legal and Regulatory Obligations
The Commission’s cloud rethink is not solely a question of autonomy; legal compliance is also playing a decisive role. In 2024, EU Data Protection Supervisor Wojciech Wiewiórowski sharply criticized the Commission’s use of Microsoft’s cloud-based services, particularly MS 365. Wiewiórowski found the Commission had violated provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation for EU institutions, pointing to issues around cross-border data transfers and lack of transparency about data residency and access.The Data Protection Supervisor’s office demanded, in unusually pointed language, that all associated data transfers be halted, increasing the compliance pressure on the Commission to seek out service providers capable of offering more tightly controlled, EU-based infrastructure. These regulatory developments complement the political and technological rationale for a potential migration.
Analysis: Opportunities and Challenges on the Path to European Digital Sovereignty
Strengths and Strategic Upside
- Enhanced Data Control: Moving from Microsoft Azure to a European provider would arguably maximize Commission control over data residency, access, and security—the core pillars of digital sovereignty in the European context.
- Regulatory Alignment: By choosing providers fully subject to EU law and oversight, the Commission would mitigate the risk of inadvertent violations of data protection obligations, particularly around international data transfers restricted by recent court judgments such as Schrems II.
- Geopolitical Autonomy: The move sends a powerful signal about Europe’s desire to insulate itself from extraterritorial interference and arbitrary service disruption, such as that triggered by sanctions (witness the ICC case).
- Market Incentives: A major institutional migration could seed further investment and innovation among European cloud providers, potentially catalyzing the emergence of more competitive alternatives to the current U.S.-dominated public cloud landscape.
Potential Risks and Points of Caution
- Technical Parity and Integration: While OVHcloud and other EU-based providers have scaled rapidly, it remains an open question whether their core services, global reach, scalability, and security controls can match those of the “hyperscale” U.S. giants, particularly at the intricate level required by sprawling governmental organizations.
- Vendor Lock-In and Transition Hurdles: Migrating away from long-established Microsoft ecosystems involves substantial technical overhead, compatibility troubleshooting, retraining, and potential service interruptions. Previous cloud migrations in both public and private sectors have uncovered hidden dependencies and integration pain points.
- Security and Compliance Assurance: In shifting to a “sovereign” cloud, the Commission must still evaluate and guarantee that all regulatory, operational, and security standards are preserved or exceeded. European providers may be less exposed to foreign jurisdictional claims but still face the same threat landscape and regulatory scrutiny.
- Sustainability of the Sovereign Model: The sustainability of a purely “European cloud” approach will depend on continued investment, regulatory harmonization, and political will. European providers must also address scalability challenges and the economic efficiency advantages currently enjoyed by global hyperscalers.
Market Impact: A Tipping Point or Incremental Change?
Should a migration transpire, it would almost certainly shift market dynamics in several ways. First, it would confirm that concerns over digital sovereignty are actionable, not merely rhetorical. Other EU institutions, and potentially critical infrastructure operators and regulated industries, might follow suit. The symbolic effect alone could embolden champions of the EuroStack approach and prompt further calls for coordinated funding and cross-border cloud infrastructure build-out.Yet, the transition is unlikely to spell immediate doom for Microsoft or its U.S. peers, who have already shown capacity for rapid pivoting—for example, through localized “cloud regions,” partnerships or joint ventures with European entities, and evolving contractual models that address data localization head-on. Microsoft’s recent adaptation in this regard—namely its “EU Data Boundary” initiative, which promises to store and process customer data exclusively within the EU—may slow or partially stave off sector-wide migration in the near term, provided the offering is deemed trustworthy by regulators and procurement authorities.
For OVHcloud, Ionos, Scaleway, and others, a Commission contract would represent a high-profile validation and a potentially large-scale reference customer. However, these local players must still scale their R&D, support, and compliance functions to meet the heightened demands that come with serving the continent’s executive branch—and, by extension, its ambitious digital agenda.
Broader Implications for Cloud and Data Sovereignty
This prospective move by the EU Commission cannot be viewed in isolation. It is emblematic of a larger pivot among European governments toward regaining strategic autonomy across digital sectors. Recent years have seen:- The roll-out of the GAIA-X project—a European data infrastructure framework designed to create federated, interoperable, and standards-driven data ecosystem within the continent.
- The push for European “trusted cloud” labels, which signal compliance with EU privacy, security, and competition rules.
- Growing regulatory activism, best exemplified by the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA), emphasizing data portability, privacy, and anti-monopoly principles.
The Road Ahead: Lessons and Next Steps
Even if a full-scale migration does not materialize in the coming quarter, the Commission’s active negotiation and partial contracting with European cloud providers is significant. Pilot projects or hybrid solutions may serve as transitional models, allowing broader migration as confidence in technical capabilities, legal compliance, and cost parity is established.The process is also serving as a crucible for evolving procurement strategies in Europe. Questions of “sovereign cloud” procurement are now central to public IT projects, shaping requirements and vendor relationships throughout the value chain.
The Commission, and by extension European institutions at large, are presented with a finely balanced equation:
- Pursue sovereignty, autonomy, and regulatory certainty through local platforms—even at the risk of temporary inconvenience, cost overhead, and logistical complexity.
- Or embrace global platforms but insist on robust legal guarantees, technical transparency, and alignment with EU values through evolving, sometimes experimental contractual and technical models.
Conclusion
The European Commission’s reported flirtation with leaving Microsoft Azure in favor of OVHcloud or other domestic cloud providers marks more than a routine procurement debate—it is a test case for the EU’s digital sovereignty ambitions at the highest level. Driven by both pressing events and long-standing strategic agendas, and underpinned by legal, technical, and political forces, the outcome will resonate far beyond Brussels.Whether fully executed or only partially implemented, this moment demonstrates the seriousness—and possible fragility—of the European sovereign cloud vision. Success will be measured not just by symbolic acts but by the ability of Europe’s digital infrastructure to offer resilience, security, and autonomy without sacrificing the innovation and performance upon which the future depends. For Microsoft and other global technology giants, the story is one of adaptation and contest; for OVHcloud and its peers, a rare opportunity to prove European technology on the world stage. Most of all, the process signals that questions of who controls data, platforms, and digital futures are set to define the next chapter of Europe’s technological identity.
Source: heise online Sovereignty: EU Commission flirts with replacing Microsoft's Azure cloud