US tech giants warn Europe that ditching US tech giants could cost €115B
Amazon, Google, Meta among members of lobby group funding dire warnings over cloud sovereignty plans
A new study funded by a lobbying group representing major US tech companies, including Amazon, Google, and Meta, warns that Europe's reliance on US cloud providers could cost the region €115 billion over the next decade. This warning comes as the European Commission proposes the Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA), which would require higher levels of sovereignty in European cloud services.
The study estimates that the proposed legislation could lead to €33.3 billion in public sector costs and €80 billion in private sector costs, though the latter figure assumes the Commission extends sovereignty requirements to 25% of cloud workloads in essential private-sector industries. The study also highlights the potential financial impact on specific European countries, with Luxembourg facing the highest cost at €1,711 per worker over ten years.
The study specifically targets Article 31 of the proposed legislation, which CCIA argues could force businesses to migrate away from existing cloud infrastructure, resulting in expensive software redevelopment projects. CCIA urges EU governments to limit sovereignty restrictions to sensitive workloads and abandon requirements based on corporate origin or personnel nationality, instead advocating for risk-based technical safeguards.
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