Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) just made European data sovereignty a lot more tangible. The company's cloud computing division, Amazon Web Services, unveiled its European Sovereign Cloud on Thursday—a completely standalone cloud environment that lives entirely within the EU and operates separately from every other AWS region on the planet.
What Makes It Sovereign
The first AWS European Sovereign Cloud region launched in Brandenburg, Germany, representing a massive long-term commitment from Amazon. The company is investing more than €7.8 billion (roughly $9 billion) in Germany alone, which should support about 2,800 jobs each year.
Here's the important part: this isn't just AWS with a European address. The infrastructure is physically and logically isolated from other AWS regions, complete with technical safeguards, sovereign controls, and legal protections specifically designed for European governments and businesses handling sensitive data. Think of it as AWS behind a velvet rope—European customers get the full cloud experience without their data ever crossing borders or mingling with other regions.
The platform delivers everything you'd expect from AWS: the same security architecture, performance standards, APIs, and innovations like the AWS Nitro System. It launches with more than 90 services covering AI, compute, databases, networking, security, and storage. The pitch is straightforward—meet strict digital sovereignty requirements without sacrificing access to cutting-edge cloud and AI capabilities.
Expanding Across Europe
AWS isn't stopping in Germany. The company plans to roll out the sovereign cloud to other EU countries to address stringent data residency, isolation, and low-latency demands. The expansion starts with new sovereign AWS Local Zones in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Portugal, bringing advanced cloud and AI infrastructure closer to local customers while keeping everything within regulatory boundaries.
The service already has customers lined up. European public-sector organizations and regulated-industry players including EWE AG, MUL-CT, and Sanoma Learning have adopted the platform. Major partners like Accenture, Deloitte, Nvidia, SAP, and Capgemini are committed to building solutions on the AWS European Sovereign Cloud.
Stéphane Israël, managing director of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud and digital sovereignty, framed it as giving customers the best of both worlds: "Customers want to be able to use AWS's full portfolio of cloud and AI services while ensuring they can meet their stringent sovereignty requirements. By building a cloud that is European in its infrastructure, operations, and governance, we're empowering organisations to innovate with confidence while maintaining complete control over their digital assets."