Europe’s Growing Alarm Over US Tech Dependency in Trump’s Second Term

In Donald Trump’s second administration, Europe is grappling with a digital dilemma: its economy and government services run on technology infrastructure largely controlled by U.S. tech giants, yet transatlantic political shifts are making that reliance look increasingly risky. From cloud computing to productivity software, American firms like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure form the backbone of Europe’s digital operations. Now, amid geopolitical turbulence, European officials and businesses are sounding the alarm about “US tech dependency” and urgently pursuing “data sovereignty.”

Recent moves by European governments underscore these fears. “The question we as Europeans must ask ourselves is: do we feel comfortable with people like Trump, (Meta CEO Mark) Zuckerberg and (X owner Elon) Musk ruling over our data?” asked Marieke Koekkoek, a Dutch lawmaker, after the Netherlands’ Parliament passed motions calling to reduce reliance on U.S. tech companies and build a sovereign Dutch cloud​. The Dutch motions – eight in total, passed on March 18 – reflect a broader European push to regain control over critical digital infrastructure. Lawmakers noted that while past “Euro cloud” initiatives stalled for lack of viable local options, shifting relations with Washington under President Trump have given the issue fresh urgency​. In short, Europe fears its data and systems could be “weaponized” by a less-friendly U.S. if political winds change​.

Geopolitical Risks of US-Controlled Clouds

European leaders increasingly view tech infrastructure as a geopolitical vulnerability – not just an IT concern. Under Trump’s leadership, the U.S. has taken unpredictable actions that rattle allies. European companies and governments worry that vital cloud services could be curtailed or exploited in a diplomatic rift. “There’s a huge appetite in Europe to de-risk or decouple the over-dependence on US tech companies, because there is a concern that they could be weaponized against European interests,” warns Marietje Schaake, a former Member of European Parliament and now a Stanford cyber policy fellow​. This concern isn’t abstract: in late January, Trump abruptly fired key members of the U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board – a body helping oversee EU-US data transfer agreements – undermining trust in a new transatlantic data pact​. European officials fear Trump’s hardline approach to surveillance and national security could erode privacy guarantees that allow European personal data to be stored in U.S. clouds​. Specific U.S. laws add to European jitters. The CLOUD Act empowers U.S. law enforcement to subpoena data from tech companies even if servers sit in Europe, potentially exposing EU citizens’ data to American authorities​. Likewise, past EU-US data-sharing frameworks (like Safe Harbor and Privacy Shield) were struck down by European courts over U.S. snooping concerns, and today’s replacement deal still faces scepticism​. Now, with Washington’s privacy oversight in question, Europeans fear the legal scaffolding protecting their data could collapse.

These geopolitical and legal risks have taken on new urgency with Trump’s return. “The dramatic shift of the Trump administration is very tangible,” says Schaake. “The idea that anything could happen and that Europe should fend for itself is clear.”​

Europe’s Push for Data Sovereignty and Tech Independence

From parliaments to boardrooms, Europe is taking action to reduce its US tech dependency. The Dutch Parliament’s recent vote is just one example. Days earlier, over 100 European organizations signed an open letter to EU officials urging the continent to become “more technologically independent,” warning that the status quo creates “security and reliability risks.”​

This coalition of tech companies, think tanks, and advocacy groups is calling for “radical action” – from investing in European cloud infrastructure to instituting a “Buy European Tech” policy – to achieve European tech sovereignty​. Their message: Europe needs its own cloud and software ecosystem, not just to foster innovation and jobs, but to protect its autonomy in a data-driven world.

Governments are listening. Alongside the Netherlands, other EU member states and institutions have voiced alarm. French and German officials have championed initiatives like Gaia-X, a project to federate European cloud providers under common standards, aiming to create a homegrown “cloud of clouds.” Progress on these efforts has been slow – Gaia-X has been mired in infighting and even admitted U.S. firms as members, diluting its mission​. Still, the political will for “European data sovereignty” is stronger than ever. EU lawmakers are debating regulations (like a proposed EU Cloud Certification Scheme) to favour cloud providers that meet sovereignty criteria – for example, being immune to extraterritorial laws like the CLOUD Act​.

Even at the city level, there are signs of change. Some European municipalities and agencies have begun migrating from U.S.-hosted productivity suites (like Microsoft 365) to European or open-source alternatives, citing privacy rulings. And the European Commission itself was found to have infringed EU data rules by relying on Microsoft services, prompting calls to diversify its software vendors​. The overall trend is clear: “data sovereignty” – keeping Europeans’ data under European jurisdiction – has become a rallying cry. As one EU tech expert put it, there is “a broader trend: a deliberate move to rebalance the digital ecosystem away from a reliance that could be compromised by shifting political winds.”​

However, pursuing tech sovereignty comes with formidable challenges. Europe lacks native cloud providers at global scale – there is no “EU AWS” or “Euro Google” equivalent today. Past attempts to prop up European champions often faltered against the sheer convenience and maturity of U.S. platforms. As Dutch technologist Bert Hubert wryly observed, “We sell a lot of fine wood here in Europe. But not that much furniture.”​

In other words, Europe produces raw tech talent and niche solutions, but struggles to build the integrated tech giants that offer everything under one roof. This paradox leaves Europe in a bind: even as it fears U.S. policy shifts, it remains deeply reliant on U.S. tech because no other ecosystem yet offers comparable infrastructure and services.

Despite the hurdles, recent events have given a boost to European cloud alternatives. Smaller European cloud providers are reporting a spike in demand from companies looking to migrate off U.S. platforms. “We have more demand from across Europe,” confirms Exoscale’s CEO Nöbauer, noting a clear uptick in new customers seeking to move away from the American “hyperscalers”​. “Some customers were very explicit… that they want to move away from US hyperscalers because of the US administration,” he says​. Over in Sweden, Joakim Öhman – CEO of Elastx, a Swedish cloud firm – says the same: European businesses are on alert because “the US is maybe not on the same team as us any longer. Those are the drivers that bring organizations to look at alternatives.”​ Both CEOs told WIRED that in the weeks following Trump’s inauguration, they’ve seen significant uptick in inquiries and sign-ups as companies explore Europe-based hosting and cloud solutions​.

It’s not just talk – some migrations are already underway. Steffen Schmidt, CEO of Medicusdata (an EU health tech firm), says “since the beginning of 2025, [our] customers have actively asked us to use cloud providers that are natively European companies.” In response, his company recently moved portions of its services from U.S. clouds to Exoscale’s servers in Europe​. And Dave Cottlehuber, who runs a small tech infrastructure business in Austria, decided to pull his company’s data off U.S. providers entirely after Trump’s election. “First and foremost, it’s about values – for me, privacy is a right, not a privilege,” he says, adding that as a bonus, “it removes some taxes that are paid to the Trump administration.”​ Cottlehuber acknowledges it’s easier for a small outfit like his to “go local,” but he wanted to take a principled stand and prove it’s possible.

There are also grassroots indicators of a shift. According to Marko Saric, co-founder of Plausible (a European web analytics service), traffic to the “European Alternatives” website – a directory of EU-made apps and services – soared by over 1,200% starting in mid-January​. “We can certainly feel that something is going on,” Saric says, noting that in the first 18 days of March his company’s revenue growth already surpassed the previous two months​. “This is organic growth which cannot be explained by any seasonality or our activities,” he adds​. The implication is that the demand for EU cloud alternatives and other sovereign tech tools is hitting a tipping point thanks to political catalysts. Even European governments are encouraging this momentum. Some have begun mandating consideration of domestic cloud services for public sector data, or at least diversifying their vendors​. The idea is to nurture a local ecosystem of providers – companies like France’s OVHcloud, Germany’s Ionos, or smaller players like Exoscale – that can compete for business that might otherwise default to Amazon, Microsoft, or Google. The ultimate vision is a “multi-cloud” Europe where no single foreign company monopolizes critical systems.

Europe’s  Multicloud Strategy

For most large organizations, however, cutting the cord from U.S. tech giants won’t be easy. In reality, many European companies and agencies already use multicloud strategies – mixing and matching services from different providers​. It’s common, for example, for a business to use Microsoft Azure for some applications, Amazon’s AWS for others, and maybe a private cloud or local data centre for certain sensitive workloads. This provides a measure of flexibility and mitigates vendor lock-in, but it doesn’t eliminate dependency on the Big Three; it merely spreads it around. Now, some are considering weighting those mixes more toward European providers (a sort of “hybrid multicloud” approach) to hedge against geopolitical risk​. In practical terms, a company might keep using an American cloud for less sensitive functions while migrating critical databases to a European host – a balance between performance and sovereignty.

Still, significant barriers stand in the way of any mass exodus from U.S. cloud platforms. One challenge is technical inertia: many organizations have deeply integrated their operations with AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud, taking full advantage of proprietary features and managed services. Replacing those with European alternatives is often not a one-to-one swap. “If you are deep into the hyperscaler cloud ecosystem, you’ll struggle to find equivalent services elsewhere,” notes Bert Hubert, who has advised the Dutch government on digital affairs​. A startup might move a basic website from Amazon to a European provider fairly quickly, but a Fortune 500 company running complex analytics on Google’s BigQuery or Microsoft’s AI tools can’t find an exact European substitute overnight. Despite growth from EU providers, “European alternatives can’t properly compete” on the breadth of offerings yet, Hubert says bluntly​.

Another obstacle is sheer data gravity and logistics. As one IT advisor pointed out, migrating giant datasets can take an enormous amount of time and money. “What happens if you have a hundred petabytes of storage? It’s going to take years to move over the internet,” he explained​. Large enterprises must carefully consider the risk vs. reward of moving off a U.S. cloud, especially if they’ve already invested in security and compliance there. Any transition must be methodical to avoid downtime or new vulnerabilities. In the near term, these factors mean most shifts will be gradual and partial. Indeed, AWS insists the sky isn’t falling: an AWS spokesperson said it’s “not accurate” that customers are leaving en masse, noting that AWS lets customers control where data is stored and encrypted, claiming its cloud is “sovereign-by-design”. (Google and Microsoft similarly tout encryption and local datacentre options, and declined to comment on European customers’ moves​.

This highlights the paradox Europe faces. The EU worries about being at the mercy of U.S. tech policy, yet it relies on U.S. firms to provide cutting-edge cloud capabilities at scale. Even attempts to create “sovereign clouds” often involve those very firms – for example, Microsoft and AWS have announced special European cloud offerings run by EU-based staff​, effectively acknowledging Europe’s concerns but also reinforcing that they are the ones who can meet Europe’s needs. Europe’s own tech industry, while vibrant in areas like fintech and enterprise software, does not currently boast a global cloud powerhouse. As Hubert pointed out, Europe has plenty of the “raw materials” (talent, infrastructure, capital) but hasn’t yet built the furniture – the world-class cloud platforms – at least not to the level of the American incumbents​.

…….a Long-Term Project

European tech experts say the solution will require patience and strategic investment. “Now we need to see the same kind of pace and leadership that we see with defense to actually turn this into meaningful action,” argues Marietje Schaake, drawing a parallel to how Europe ramped up defense spending after geopolitical shocks​. She and others suggest a multi-pronged approach: major public funding for European cloud and semiconductor projects, a Europe-first procurement strategy (so governments favour domestic tech suppliers), and policies to encourage cloud interoperability and open standards​. The goal is to make it easier for European alternatives to grow and for customers to switch without penalty. The open letter signed by 100+ organizations in March called for a “sovereign tech fund” to back European providers and for stricter rules to curb Big Tech dominance in public contracts​.

There are signs of progress. The European Commission recently created a Joint Cyber Unit to coordinate cloud and cybersecurity efforts across member states, and countries like France have rolled out “trusted cloud” labels to certify homegrown services for sensitive data. But realistically, building a full-fledged European tech ecosystem to rival the U.S. (or China) is a generational effort. In the meantime, Europe is leveraging the tools at its disposal – regulation, market pressure, and diplomatic negotiation – to at least ensure greater “data autonomy” within the current landscape. For example, privacy regulators have cracked down on unlawful data transfers to the U.S., forcing companies to seek EU-based solutions for certain use cases. And some European firms are proactively adopting multicloud strategies that incorporate EU providers, as a form of insurance​.

The coming years will test how far Europe’s newfound tech assertiveness can go. If U.S. politics continue on an unpredictable course, the push for European tech sovereignty will likely accelerate. We may see more government mandates to host data locally, more funding for “EU cloud” initiatives, and potentially a boom for companies positioned as “EU cloud alternatives”. On the other hand, if European efforts stall or if U.S. providers manage to assuage European fears (through legal agreements or tailored services), the dominant position of American cloud giants may remain firmly entrenched.

For now, Europe is waking up to the strategic importance of controlling its digital destiny. The transatlantic tech relationship is being rebalanced: Europe doesn’t want a full decoupling from Silicon Valley, but it does want the capability to stand on its own if needed. As one commentary put it, Europe is asking how it can “guard against political entanglements while still benefiting from the innovations” of global tech​.

It’s a tough needle to thread. The coming decisions – by CEOs choosing cloud vendors, by politicians shaping industrial policy, and by consumers valuing privacy – will determine whether Europe can solve this tech dependency paradox. The only certainty is that digital sovereignty has become more than a buzzword in Europe: it’s now seen as integral to the continent’s future security and prosperity in an uncertain era.