AWS forms new German entity to support EU sovereign cloud

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is taking major steps to meet Europe’s strict data sovereignty and privacy demands with the launch of a dedicated sovereign cloud infrastructure within the European Union. As part of the initiative, AWS is forming a new parent company and three subsidiaries in Germany to oversee the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, set to go live by the end of 2025.

Kathrin Renz, AWS Vice President, will serve as managing director of the German-based parent company. The company will also be led by EU-based officials responsible for government security and privacy, ensuring compliance with local regulations.

“Everything needed to operate the AWS European Sovereign Cloud is in the EU,” AWS emphasized in a blog post. The infrastructure, operations, and personnel — including data center access, technical support, and customer service — will all be based in the EU, with no operational control from outside the bloc.

This move comes as global cloud providers, including AWS rivals Microsoft and Google, expand their sovereign cloud offerings to align with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and national laws like Germany’s Federal Data Protection Act. Data residency and sovereignty have become top priorities for public and private sector customers in the region.

In May 2024, AWS committed to investing €7.8 billion (approximately $8.8 billion) in building out its sovereign cloud infrastructure in Germany through 2040. The first AWS European Sovereign Cloud region is planned for Brandenburg.

Unlike AWS’s existing global cloud regions, the European Sovereign Cloud will operate with full independence within the EU. Customers will be able to store and process all data — including metadata and system configurations — entirely within the EU, providing a legally compliant environment for sensitive data workloads.

AWS is also establishing a European security operations center and forming an advisory board made up entirely of EU citizens to further reinforce trust and transparency.

“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,” said Renz.

This move reflects AWS’s attempt to rebuild trust with European regulators after past data privacy and competition concerns. In 2021, Amazon was fined €746 million by Luxembourg’s data authority for violating GDPR. And in 2022, it settled an EU antitrust investigation over misuse of rivals' sales data.

With its sovereign cloud push, Amazon aims to reaffirm its commitment to Europe’s digital future — and strengthen its foothold in one of the world’s most privacy-conscious markets.