Control Without Compromise
Digital sovereignty is becoming a strategic necessity, particularly in regions like Europe, where data protection, privacy, and regulatory oversight are intensifying. As organizations modernize and move critical workloads to the cloud, they increasingly demand autonomy, control, and transparency over data handling.
To meet these needs, AWS has been enhancing its technical and operational safeguards beyond standard compliance. This includes introducing new infrastructure models and service innovations to help customers navigate evolving requirements without locking them into limited or fragmented cloud solutions.
From the very beginning, AWS embedded sovereignty into its platform. Customers in highly regulated industries such as finance and healthcare demanded strong data protection, shaping AWS’s service architecture. Early developments included encryption, key management, and contractual data processing assurances.
More recently, AWS introduced data residency guardrails in AWS Control Tower and adhered to the CISPE Code of Conduct, strengthening its GDPR alignment.
As a result, the AWS Cloud is what AWS describes as sovereign-by-design.
AWS Digital Sovereignty Pledge
The AWS Digital Sovereignty Pledge represents AWS’s long-term commitment to delivering the most advanced sovereignty controls in the cloud. It affirms that customers should not have to choose between innovation and compliance.
Through this pledge, AWS promises continued investment in:
- Fine-grained data residency and encryption controls
- Infrastructure operated exclusively by EU-based personnel
- Transparent governance and auditability
- Service parity with global AWS offerings
These commitments ensure that even the most regulated organizations can confidently adopt AWS technologies while maintaining full regulatory alignment – without trade-offs.
The Four Core Commitments of the Pledge
Control Over Data Location
Customers can determine where their data is stored and processed. AWS enables this through granular residency controls and transparency mechanisms, including enhancements in AWS Control Tower to enforce data residency for both customer and operational data.
Verifiable Access Restrictions
AWS employs technologies like the AWS Nitro System to ensure physical and logical isolation of workloads. This hardware-based security architecture is foundational to AWS’s approach, preventing even AWS personnel from accessing customer data running in EC2 environments and helping preserve confidentiality during processing.
Encryption Everywhere
AWS services support encryption at rest, in transit, and even in memory. Customers have full control over their encryption keys, including the option to use external key stores, ensuring sovereignty over the complete data lifecycle.
Cloud Resilience
Sovereignty requires high availability. AWS delivers this via multiple Availability Zones per region and supports operations in remote or offline environments to maintain business continuity during outages or disconnection.
Transparent Trust Model
AWS commits to transparency in data handling, ongoing resistance to unwarranted government data access requests, and alignment with international compliance standards like CISPE and GDPR.
These practices enable customers to remain not only compliant but also protected.
Introducing the AWS European Sovereign Cloud
The AWS European Sovereign Cloud is a purpose-built infrastructure designed to meet the EU’s stringent data sovereignty and regulatory demands. It targets public sector organizations and businesses in highly regulated industries such as finance, healthcare, and telecommunications.
Set to launch by the end of 2025, the €7.8 billion AWS European Sovereign Cloud will be hosted entirely within the EU, beginning with a region in Brandenburg, Germany. The investment goes beyond infrastructure, with AWS projecting a €17.2 billion contribution to Germany’s GDP and the support of approximately 2,800 full-time equivalent jobs annually across sectors such as construction, engineering, and telecommunications. It also includes commitments to workforce development, including the hiring of EU-based software engineers, solutions architects, and operations personnel.
The cloud will offer the same services, APIs, architecture, and security as the global AWS Cloud—delivered with full independence from existing AWS Regions.
To ensure autonomous governance, AWS has established a dedicated European organization comprising a parent company and three subsidiaries incorporated in Germany. Led by EU citizens residing in the EU, this structure is responsible for compliance, operations, and security in alignment with European legal standards.
Key Differentiators of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud
This is not just another AWS region – it is a purpose-built solution designed to:
- Guarantee data residency and operational independence within the EU
- Operate on physically and logically isolated infrastructure with hardened security mechanisms
- Provide complete control over metadata, IAM, billing, and usage systems—all within the EU
- Be overseen by a dedicated European Security Operations Center (SOC), staffed by EU-resident AWS personnel to ensure robust security and compliance
- Offer a Euro-denominated (EUR) experience for billing, cost management, and the console interface—aligned with regional financial and regulatory standards
At launch, the cloud will support a broad portfolio of services spanning compute, AI/ML, storage, security, networking, databases, and containers—empowering organizations to build and scale compliant, cloud-native applications from day one.
To ensure independent oversight, AWS will also establish an advisory board composed entirely of EU citizens residing in the EU. The board will act in the best interests of European customers, with at least one independent member unaffiliated with Amazon, and will oversee sovereignty-related operations and accountability.
From Readiness to Innovation
Customers can begin their transition now by running proof-of-concepts in existing AWS Regions using tools such as AWS CloudFormation, Amazon SageMaker, and AWS Key Management Service (KMS) with External Key Store. After launch, these workloads can migrate seamlessly – especially those requiring high-assurance environments or in-country deployment via AWS Outposts or Dedicated Local Zones.
AWS also supports readiness through its Cloud Adoption Framework, Migration Acceleration Program, and more than 100 AI/ML training modules, ensuring organizations are fully equipped to leverage the sovereign cloud.
Trusted by Industry Leaders
Leading organizations like Adobe are already leveraging the AWS European Sovereign Cloud to meet strict EU regulations and unlock secure, AI-driven innovation. As an AWS Advanced Tier Services Partner, we at ByteSource help you achieve the same, with local expertise, proven migration strategies, and end-to-end support for full compliance and maximum sovereignty.
Conclusion: A New Standard for Cloud Sovereignty in Europe
With the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, AWS is setting a new benchmark for secure, autonomous, and scalable cloud infrastructure in the EU. It empowers customers to innovate confidently, knowing their data and operations remain fully governed within European jurisdiction.
- This initiative provides peace of mind while enabling organizations to:
- Leverage cutting-edge cloud capabilities
- Retain control over sensitive data and workflows
- Scale without sacrificing sovereignty
AWS is not merely responding to regulatory demands – it is shaping the future of secure, trustworthy cloud infrastructure. By combining technological autonomy with operational transparency, AWS ensures that customers – particularly in regulated environments – can embrace the cloud with confidence.
This initiative goes beyond infrastructure; it enables a new era of digital independence, tailored innovation, and resilient operations, all delivered within a robust and sovereign framework.
Combine the best of AWS Digital Sovereignty with our trusted Cloud Consulting
As an AWS Advanced Tier Services Partner, we guide you on your journey to the AWS European Sovereign Cloud and through the sovereignty controls. Our experienced team supports you end-to-end — from secure architecture and governance to compliance-ready DevOps, resilient migration strategies, and cost-efficient operations.
With our consulting expertise, you unlock the full value of sovereign cloud infrastructure while meeting strict European data residency and compliance requirements.
Sources:
AWS Digital Sovereignty AWS Investments into AWS European Sovereign Cloud New sovereign controls and governance structure for the AWS European Sovereign Cloud
