Amazon Web Services has finalized its operational plans for its European Sovereign Cloud, a fully independent cloud infrastructure that will operate exclusively within the European Union.
The governance structure includes creating a new parent company and three subsidiaries in Germany to own and run the sovereign cloud. Amazon emphasized that only EU-based AWS personnel will manage daily operations, including security functions, technical support and customer service.
German tech veteran Kathrin Renz, an AWS Industries vice president, has been appointed managing director of AWS European Sovereign Cloud, overseeing governance, compliance and security. AWS also formed an independent advisory board of four EU citizens, including at least one member unaffiliated with Amazon, to handle sovereignty-related matters. A dedicated Security Operations Center will be set up to ensure compliance with European laws and sovereignty requirements. AWS will also implement a sovereign requirements framework to meet regulatory demands and provide auditable compliance.
“Customers tell us they don’t want to choose between feature-limited solutions or the full power of AWS, so we’ve designed the AWS European Sovereign Cloud to address European digital sovereignty requirements while maintaining the services portfolio, security, reliability and performance that customers expect from AWS,” Renz said in a statement.
“Our investment in the AWS European Sovereign Cloud reinforces our commitment to Europe’s digital future – driving cloud and AI adoption is at the heart of Europe’s innovation agenda, and this solution will enable customers to accelerate innovation while meeting their digital sovereignty needs.”
The AWS European Sovereign Cloud will deliver a full suite of AWS services, including compute, containers, databases, and artificial intelligence tools such as Amazon Bedrock, Amazon Q, and Amazon SageMaker. According to the company, the infrastructure will be available to all customers and partners once launched. The first cloud region will be established in Brandenburg, Germany, by the end of 2025, backed by an $8.9 billion investment.