While there are questions around the implications of the ownership structure, AWS’s European Sovereign Cloud still provides a greater level of sovereignty compared to its standard public cloud service in terms of enabling regulatory compliance, according to analysts. This could appeal to European organizations, they said, depending on their sovereignty requirements.

“The AWS European Sovereign Cloud is a step in the right direction. It signals that they acknowledge the problem.”

Google and Thales, for instance, or Microsoft and Bleu, a joint venture between Orange and Capgemini. This involves the hyperscaler providing access to its technology, while the two companies remain independent. Buest said the arrangement provides a higher level of “operational sovereignty” compared to AWS European Sovereign Cloud, though it still involves some level of technological dependence on the hyperscaler.

Today, "sovereignty-washing" represents a more sophisticated version of the same tactic: coopting the language of autonomy to entrench dependency.

American hyperscalers have recognized the market demand for sovereignty and now aggressively market 'sovereign cloud' solutions, typically by placing datacenters on European soil or partnering with local operators. Critics call this ‘sovereignty washing’. Caffarra warns that this does not resolve the fundamental problem. "A company subject to the extraterritorial laws of the United States cannot be considered sovereign for Europe," she says. "That simply doesn't work." Because, as long as the parent company is American, it remains subject to the CLOUD Act.

Daarin gaat het nadrukkelijk over autonomie en keuzevrijheid, niet over soevereiniteit, want iedereen weet dat volledige ontkoppeling een illusie is en niemand wil de regering Trump onnodig tegen de haren instrijken.

Microsoft biedt een soevereine cloud-oplossing, Amazon ook, Google ook. De bedrijven beloven bijvoorbeeld datacenters in Europa te gebruiken. Of brengen een extra – Europese – bestuurslaag aan in hun bedrijf. Krijgen Europeanen daarmee de verlangde onafhankelijkheid? De uiteindelijke eigenaren blijven Amerikaans. Sovereignty washing noemt de groep rond Caffarra het, analoog aan ‘green washing’, de ingeburgerde term voor bedrijven die net doen alsof ze duurzaam zijn.