The European Union’s drive towards some form of digital sovereignty has just received a boost with the first four companies ready to support the EU cloud sovereignty project.
Four cloud service providers — Etix, Phocea, Thésée Datacenter, and Gigas — have signed up for the CISPE Sovereign and Resilient Cloud Service Certification program. Currently, they are all at the self-certification stage and have submitted their services for an independent audit to assess whether they meet the required criteria.
The EU has been pressing hard for a strong European presence in the cloud market. Public bodies are increasingly fearful about exposure of their data to US providers. The US Cloud Act (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data), for example, permits the US government to access a range of data held by cloud operators, even if that data is held outside the US. This legislation conflicts with the EU GDPR Act and has prompted the call for more digital sovereignty across Europe.
“Public bodies, hospitals and industrial operators are today seeking concrete guarantees of digital sovereignty. The CISPE Sovereignty Badge provides that guarantee. It is a natural complement to European standards such as Gaia-X Level 3, strengthening transparency, compliance and digital trust. It is this ability to provide concrete proof, beyond rhetoric, that underpins genuine European digital autonomy.” said Antoine Fournier, CEO of Thésée Datacenter
The EU is keen to guard against ‘sovereignty washing’ — claims by foreign-owned cloud providers that they meet local control criteria. Last month, CISPE warned about Broadcom’s claim it complied with EU conditions. It probably won’t be the last to make such claims.