European Union advances digital sovereignty with new cloud and open‑source strategy

On 3 June 2026 the European Commission presented a legislative package aimed at strengthening the EU’s digital sovereignty. The package combines the Cloud and AI Development Act, the Chips Act 2.0, a European open‑source strategy and a roadmap for AI and energy, with the goal of reducing reliance on US hyperscale cloud providers and limiting exposure to extraterritorial laws such as the US Cloud Act.

The Commission stresses that current dependence on American cloud services creates legal and economic risks for European organisations, including potential data access by US authorities and vendor lock‑in that hampers price negotiation and migration. While the package introduces an “Open Source First” principle, the text stops short of making open‑source evaluation mandatory, leaving the choice as one factor among cost, performance and security. Analysts argue that a binding arbitration mechanism—requiring systematic assessment of open‑source alternatives for major projects—would be needed to make the policy effective.

European firms such as Infomaniak are cited as examples of sovereign alternatives, offering cloud services hosted in Switzerland with open standards and encryption under European control. The EU’s move signals a strategic shift, but its impact will depend on how rigorously the open‑source requirement is enforced and how quickly organisations adopt non‑US cloud solutions.