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EU Digital Sovereignty Summit Set for Berlin as Pressure Mounts on Germany's Cloud Strategy

Officials cite U.S. legal reach over cloud providers as a threat to European control of sensitive data.

Overview

  • Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President Emmanuel Macron are slated to attend Tuesday’s meeting, with roughly 900 participants expected.
  • EU lawmakers fault Berlin’s approach and urge a new strategy with major investment, the state acting as an anchor customer, and a digital tax to bolster European vendors.
  • US statutes including the CLOUD Act and FISA 702 can compel American providers to hand over data stored in Europe, with AWS cited for hosting Bundespolizei bodycam recordings.
  • Germany’s cybersecurity chief Claudia Plattner backs technical safeguards such as strong encryption and user‑held keys to prevent unauthorized access.
  • Reliance is widespread: nine in ten German companies use cloud services, and 78% of surveyed leaders view dependence on U.S. providers critically.