If you haven’t heard of EuroStack, you might think it’s just another tech initiative in the EU. In reality, it aims to create a more open and collaborative tech ecosystem to level the global playing field. Francesco Bonfiglio, CEO of Dynamo, an Italian cloud services company, emphasizes that EuroStack is about partnerships. It responds to rising concerns over protectionism and sovereignty, which have become increasingly important worldwide. “Digital infrastructure, especially cloud services, are now crucial for our economy and democracy,” Bonfiglio tells Computer Weekly.
Large tech companies, particularly those in the US, continue to dominate the landscape, especially in cloud services where Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Google are key players. Their extensive capital investments over decades create hurdles for anyone trying to catch up, but that doesn’t mean change is impossible.
Back in January 2025, a EuroStack pitch document pointed to the Draghi competitiveness report from 2024. It highlighted Europe’s struggle to fully leverage the digital revolution as a major factor in its economic stagnation. EuroStack is an industry-driven initiative designed to build an integrated digital ecosystem covering software, services, hardware, and solutions.
About 100 organizations are involved, and they argue that the current IT scene is increasingly extractive. “Dominant providers make deals that put us at their mercy,” they argue. Despite numerous regulations aimed at fostering competition, compliance demands have only slowed down local companies. The report warns that US hyperscalers are pushing aggressively into European markets, promoting AI tools and services as keys to growth.
The main goal is to enhance security, sovereignty, and governance while fostering direct industry involvement. EuroStack has five policy pillars:
1. Define a European digital industrial policy across EU functions.
2. Build strategic digital infrastructures by uniting existing assets and enhancing industry cooperation.
3. Encourage public and private investment, especially in high-cost areas.
4. Focus on interventions that directly impact economic independence.
5. Collaborate with third-party nations that share similar goals.
In many ways, EuroStack aims to succeed where Gaia-X struggled; it had the political will but lacked a solid action plan. Trust is vital for EuroStack to work. Bonfiglio insists that transparency, control, and interoperability must be priorities. He argues that cloud federation needs to extend beyond technical collaboration—business opportunities have to drive interoperability.
Recently, cloud providers like Aruba, Ionos, and Dynamo launched the Sovereign European Cloud API (SECA), a new industry standard for managing cloud infrastructures. The next step is making it easier for businesses to discover European solutions.
Bonfiglio suggests global providers could build their own versions of EuroStack, including potentially some US companies. “No one wants to be at the mercy of just a few massive firms,” he asserts. Canalys noted that global investment in cloud infrastructure is still increasing, with a 20% year-over-year growth projected into 2025. However, the bulk of that investment—64%—goes to AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. European providers currently command less than 10% of the market, and that share is dwindling.
Bonfiglio warns that by 2028, hyperscalers may control 75% of European data centers, echoing colonial tactics of the past. But he believes there’s an opportunity to change this by leveraging existing resources.
Introducing change will be complicated. Nicky Stewart from the Open Cloud Coalition raises concerns about unifying strategies amid 27 member states. Regulation needs to be harmonized, and addressing competition issues could be more straightforward.
Stewart notes that hyperscalers have gained overwhelming power through rapid growth and concentration. Buyers often feel trapped, preferring diverse options that offer better service and pricing than what the giants provide. Simon Hansford from Civo stresses that digital sovereignty needs to account for different types of data. The way data is handled, stored, and shared matters, especially for sensitive information.
EuroStack could enhance the recognition of data’s value. An example is Airbus: Europe opted to build its own aircraft rather than serve as a manufacturing site for Boeing. This decision encouraged local job growth beyond just sales.
Hansford believes that Europe’s cloud workforce largely focuses on sales and marketing, lacking depth in research and engineering compared to the hyperscalers. To foster local ecosystems, the money needs to shift away from giant firms and back into homegrown companies.
Solange Viegas Dos Reis from OVHCloud underscores that the influence of US hyperscalers extends beyond cloud computing. These companies leverage their power to strengthen positions in other markets. With EuroStack, businesses are finally recognizing how geopolitics impacts the economy and the need to reduce reliance on external countries susceptible to political pressures.
Creating a more collaborative environment could drive choice and innovation. Viegas Dos Reis believes EuroStack could facilitate faster, targeted responses to industry needs. It’s ambitious but rooted in practical business concerns with strong leadership, avoiding regulatory red tape.
The challenges with top-down regulation have shown limited success. Viegas Dos Reis argues that aligning interests across different sectors will be vital for success. Mark Neufurth from Ionos highlights the need for Europe to craft a “target picture” reflecting current political dynamics to remain competitive in digitization. Hyperscalers are actively exploring European innovations, adding urgency to the need for local initiatives.
EuroStack comprises multiple layers, requiring extensive coordination to launch successfully. We have European innovations for low-energy chips and the SECA standard, which bode well for future progress. Collaboration will be essential, and similar initiatives in other countries, including the UK, could also be beneficial.
Neufurth stresses the necessity of reducing dependency on tech giants from China and the USA. Diversifying cloud infrastructure can enhance competition and minimize single points of failure.
