In a nutshell: Industry associations such as Eco criticise the planned sovereignty criteria as discriminatory, while Cispe calls for stricter measures to exclude misuse.
The EU Commission is working on a binding definition for cloud and AI services that should qualify as “sovereign”. Industry associations interpret the planned Cloud and AI Development Act fundamentally differently.
The EU Commission is planning for the first time to establish a binding legal definition of the conditions under which cloud and AI services can be classified as “sovereign”. The Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA) is intended to set clear criteria to strengthen European technological independence and secure control over critical infrastructure.
However, industry associations interpret this approach in diametrically opposed ways. The Eco association and international organisations warn of discrimination against providers that do not meet all criteria, and criticise the proposed standards as artificial market barriers. They fear that overly strict requirements could stifle innovation and economically disadvantage European companies.
In contrast, Cispe (Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe) and the European SME Alliance call for more rigorous and precise criteria. They see the danger of so-called “sovereignty washing” – where providers falsely claim to meet sovereign standards without actually guaranteeing control and data protection. For these associations, clear and significantly stricter audit standards are necessary to exclude misuse of the sovereignty seal.
For CDOs and compliance officers, this dispute is directly relevant: depending on how the EU ultimately defines the sovereignty criteria, requirements for cloud contracts, data locations, access rights and audit obligations will differ significantly. A definition that is too lax could mask security and control deficiencies; one that is too restrictive could artificially narrow the selection of certified providers.
Source: www.security-insider.de · Published 6 July 2026
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