Last year, AWS announced an investment of €7.8 billion in the AWS European Sovereign Cloud located in Brandenburg, Germany. For organizations with particularly high regulatory requirements, this creates a purpose-built cloud option that goes beyond the existing AWS Regions in Europe.
What is the AWS European Sovereign Cloud?
The AWS European Sovereign Cloud is a new, independent cloud infrastructure. It has been specifically designed for public sector organizations and companies operating in highly regulated industries and is operated exclusively by EU-resident personnel under EU law.
• Physically and logically separated from other AWS Regions – with independent systems for billing and identity management
• Enhanced data residency and operational resilience within the EU
• All customer-generated metadata (configurations, permissions, roles) remains within the EU
• Operated by EU-resident personnel – from security to support
• Independent European governance structure including a dedicated Security Operations Center
• Proven AWS security standards and AWS functionalities – delivered within clearly defined sovereignty boundaries
You gain access to the cloud capabilities that are essential for modern architectures: AI and machine learning, modern application platforms, managed databases, secure storage – all within an environment that consistently addresses regulatory requirements.
A Holistic View on Digital Sovereignty
Digital sovereignty encompasses several dimensions that are weighted differently depending on the organization, industry, and legal framework. In discussions with European customers, AWS regularly identifies four central focus areas: data residency, operator access restrictions, resilience within sovereignty boundaries, as well as independence and transparency.
• Data residency: backups, disaster recovery systems, temporary buffers, and metadata must remain within the permitted jurisdiction.
• Access restrictions: strict operator controls must be auditable and provide traceable audit logs.
• Resilience: continuity during regional disruptions without crossing legal boundaries.
• Independence & transparency: documentation and audit reports replace trust-based assurances.
Sovereign-by-Design
AWS integrates digital sovereignty principles directly into its system architecture. The infrastructure provides strong isolation, encryption, and restrictive operator access to comply even with strict EU regulations.
With more than 300 security services, 140 global compliance certifications, and multiple independent Availability Zones per region, AWS enables secure and resilient applications.
Services such as AWS Key Management Service and AWS CloudHSM provide full control over encryption keys, including the option to manage them outside of the AWS infrastructure.
Designed for Europe
The AWS European Sovereign Cloud operates with independent systems for identity and access management, billing, and usage metering. All operations are performed by EU citizens, and customer-generated metadata remains within the EU.
Infrastructure templates, applications, and machine learning models from existing regions remain compatible – a complete architectural rebuild is not required.
Working with Liongate as an AWS Partner
Liongate works in an agile manner and delivers projects in close alignment with your requirements. Using an MVP approach, productive solutions are delivered within three months and then iteratively expanded.
From business consulting and solution consulting to custom cloud development and managed services, we cover the entire value chain. ISO 27001-certified processes and ITIL-based operations ensure quality, security, and compliance.
Planning Digital Sovereignty Roadmaps Today
Organizations are facing strategic decisions regarding digital sovereignty. Depending on regulatory requirements, existing AWS Regions, the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, or combined models can be used. Dedicated infrastructure options provide additional flexibility.
