Amazon Web Services today announced the general availability of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, a fully featured, independently operated cloud region located entirely within the European Union and physically and logically separate from all other AWS Regions. Designed to meet the needs of European governments and enterprises with sensitive data, this new offering provides sovereign assurances and legal protections alongside a full suite of AWS services. From launch, the cloud will support more than 90 services spanning AI, compute, storage, networking, security and databases, all underpinned by AWS’s Nitro System for strong physical and logical security controls.

AWS has incorporated a dedicated governance and operational model for the European Sovereign Cloud, establishing a new parent company and three German subsidiaries (GmbH) led by EU citizens with zero operational control outside EU borders. Stéphane Israël will serve as managing director, supported by Stefan Höchbauer as a second managing director. A five-member advisory board—comprising three Amazon executives and two independent European experts, including General (Ret.) Philippe Lavigne and Sinéad McSweeney—will oversee sovereignty compliance and operational accountability under European law.

As part of its long-term commitment, Amazon plans to invest over €7.8 billion in the AWS European Sovereign Cloud in Germany, supporting an average of 2,800 full-time equivalent positions annually and contributing approximately €17.2 billion to Germany’s GDP. The initial AWS Region is located in Brandenburg, with sovereign Local Zones to follow in Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal. This investment is expected to stimulate local tech ecosystems, drive digital transformation and bolster European competitiveness in cloud and AI technologies.

AWS will extend its sovereign-only infrastructure with new Local Zones in Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal to meet stringent in-country data residency and low-latency requirements. Customers in regulated industries—public sector, healthcare, financial services, defence and energy—have already adopted the service, including EWE AG, Medizinische Universität Lausitz and Sanoma Learning. AWS partners such as Accenture, Capgemini, NVIDIA and SAP will integrate solutions within the sovereign cloud, enabling enterprises to leverage the full AWS portfolio while satisfying European data sovereignty mandates.