Author of the original article: Mathieu Pollet
published at June 19th in Politico
Summary: The return of Donald Trump to the White House has reignited fears in Europe about its deep digital dependence on the United States. At the core of the concern is the continent’s near-total reliance on American cloud providers such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. These companies control the majority of Europe’s cloud infrastructure, meaning the U.S. government could, in theory, disrupt digital services across the EU if political tensions escalate.
This vulnerability is no longer just theoretical. The disconnection of the International Criminal Court prosecutor’s Microsoft-hosted email following U.S. sanctions has demonstrated how tech services can become geopolitical tools. While U.S. companies have tried to reassure European clients—offering contractual clauses to guarantee service continuity and pledging to fight shutdown orders—ultimately, they must comply with U.S. law.
Our CEO Alexander Windbichler criticized the longstanding lack of political involvement from the European tech industry and warned of the “unhealthy dependency” on U.S. infrastructure. Reflecting on Trump’s unpredictability, he remarked that even something as extreme as shutting down European cloud access can no longer be ruled out—adding, “I never expected that the U.S. would be threatening to take Greenland away. It’s crazier than shutting down the cloud.”
A statement that sounds absurd at first — but in today’s geopolitical climate, it’s no longer just a wild thought experiment.
Here you can find the full original article: Politico
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