Europe wants more than promises from American tech 

Margot Edelman – Global Tech Practice Lead, EdelmanCamilo Lascano Tribin – Senior Director, Tech Advisory, Edelman

European businesses are questioning how much control they have over the technology they depend on. For American tech companies, that creates a growing test of credibility, with consequences for how they compete and earn trust. 

“We want to be sure nobody has a kill switch.” That was European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen’s warning when Brussels unveiled its latest technology sovereignty proposals in June. It captured a concern increasingly relevant to European businesses: what happens if access to the American technology supporting critical operations is disrupted by decisions made outside Europe? 

Europe relies heavily on US cloud infrastructure, and the Commission is turning concerns about that dependence into measurable requirements. Its Cloud Sovereignty Framework assesses providers against 48 criteria covering legal control, data, operations and supply chains. Although developed for public procurement, the Commission encourages private organisation to use the framework too. Its proposed Cloud and AI development Act would extend sovereignty assessments across public-sector cloud services, with higher requirements for more sensitive uses. Virkkunen has acknowledged that some of the highest levels would be difficult for American providers to reach because of US legal obligations. 

For American technology companies, this presents a growing commercial and reputational challenge. They have spent years demonstrating what their technology can do. European customers increasingly want to understand what providers can guarantee when political circumstances change. The answers........

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