Amazon Launches AWS European Sovereign Cloud to Address User Concerns

Amazon has announced that the AWS European Sovereign Cloud is now generally available, which is a major step in the company’s push to serve customers with strict data sovereignty requirements.

The first AWS European Sovereign Cloud region is now live in Brandenburg, Germany, with Amazon confirming plans to expand the infrastructure across the European Union in the coming years.

AWS first revealed the European Sovereign Cloud in October 2023, at a time of rising geopolitical tensions between the US and the EU. While the service is technically available to AWS customers worldwide, it is clearly aimed at public sector organizations and highly regulated industries.

“Technical controls built into the infrastructure prevent access to the AWS European Sovereign Cloud from outside the EU,” said Sébastien Stormacq, Principal Developer Advocate at AWS. Despite those assurances, concerns remain around the US CLOUD Act. The 2018 law allows US authorities to request data from companies under US jurisdiction, even if the data is stored outside the United States.

Amazon says the sovereign cloud is both physically and logically separate from all other AWS regions. It features redundant power and networking, allowing services to continue operating even if connectivity with the rest of the world is disrupted.

The company also emphasized strict operational controls. The infrastructure will be operated exclusively by EU residents based within the EU, and access from outside the region is blocked by design.