European Cloud Computing and National Security: Balancing Innovation with Sovereignty Cloud computing has become a fundamental capability for European national security and defence, enabling governments to strengthen resilience, modernize legacy systems, and access advanced technologies like artificial intelligence. However, growing dependence on American cloud providers has raised significant concerns about digital sovereignty and potential vulnerabilities to geopolitical pressures. More than three-quarters of European countries rely on U.S. Cloud computing services for vital national security functions, according to a report published by the Brussels-based Future of Technology Institute (FOTI). The analysis examined EU member states and Britain, finding that national security systems in 23 of the 28 countries studied appear to depend on American technology. Of these, 16 nations—including key military powers such as Germany, Poland, and Britain—are considered at high risk to a potential U.S. “kill switch” amid escalating tensions with the Trump administration. The report highlights how European governments increasingly fear that critical digital services could be disrupted if political relations deteriorate. Tobias Bacherle of FOTI noted the paradox of facing Russian aggression in Ukraine while simultaneously confronting unpredictable U.S. Foreign policy under President Donald Trump, citing threats to Denmark and Greenland as examples of broader geopolitical instability. Researchers based their findings on public information from defence ministry websites, national media, and EU and UK public procurement records, identifying major contracts with American providers including Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Oracle. Only neutral Austria, which is not a NATO member, was classified as lower risk among the countries studied. In response to these concerns, several European capitals have begun pursuing domestic or European alternatives for tech procurement. This shift has prompted U.S. Firms to offer “sovereign” cloud computing services marketed as being beyond Washington’s direct reach, though experts remain divided on their effectiveness in ensuring true digital independence. A separate report from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), supported by Amazon Web Services (AWS), reinforces the strategic importance of cloud adoption for European defence. Drawing on case studies from the UK, Ukraine, Estonia, and Finland, the RUSI paper concludes that cloud computing supports three core objectives: achieving operational resilience, replacing obsolete legacy systems, and accessing advanced capabilities such as AI. The report emphasizes that for NATO and European allies, cloud adoption is not merely a digital modernization effort but a question of strategic readiness in an increasingly contested security environment. The RUSI analysis acknowledges persistent challenges, including connectivity limitations, legal barriers, market concentration, and geopolitical risks. It recommends that governments establish clear cloud adoption strategies aligned with national security policies, revise legal frameworks to facilitate procurement, and model future compute needs to ensure scalability. Additional measures include centralizing procurement functions, adopting risk-based approaches, training personnel in cloud-specific skills, and mitigating dependence through multicloud strategies, client-side encryption, and interoperability mandates. As European nations continue to expand defence spending to meet evolving threats, the balance between leveraging cutting-edge cloud technologies and safeguarding digital sovereignty remains a critical priority for policymakers and defence planners across the continent.
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