A very warm hello!
„Digital sovereignty" 2026 is also a defining term. In October last year Cloud Sovereignty Framework for the first time, the European Union creates a structured evaluation framework that makes digital sovereignty measurable in the cloud.
The framework is designed to provide a reliable basis for the systematic evaluation of cloud services by authorities and companies. At the same time, the aim is to reduce dependence on suppliers outside Europe. Another objective is to strengthen the orientation of European safety standards.
The EU is thus following a fundamental change of approach: The focus shifts from general guidelines to comprehensible measurement variables and evaluation systems.
Eight Sovereignty Goals as a Structural Foundation
The framework focuses on eight clearly defined sovereignty goals (SOV-1 to SOV-8), covering different dimensions of digital independence.
These objectives range from legal, operational and technological aspects to data protection and control, auditability, sustainability and the sovereignty of supply chains.
The latter objective must be able to provide answers to the origins of hardware and software and, with 20%, counts most in the weighting of the so-called "Sovereignty Scores", which summarizes the achieved sovereignty value across all eight objectives.
Through this holistic structure, cloud sovereignty is no longer considered as an isolated factor, but as a combination of several verifiable dimensions.
SEAL levels: Five levels of cloud sovereignty
In order to make the defined goals practically applicable, the framework introduces a multi-stage evaluation scale: the so-called Sovereignty Effective Assurance Levels (SEAL).
From SEAL 0 to SEAL 4, they define how pronounced the European taxability of a cloud service is. A minimum SEAL level is set for each of the eight objectives. Thus, some providers are already excluded that have not reached the required minimum SEAL level.
The assessment for a level is based on concrete evidence that providers need to present, for example, potential access opportunities through non-European countries.
The already mentioned sovereignty score counts the assessment of all sovereignty goals together under a defined weighting per target.
On this basis, a differentiated profile is created that reflects the degree of sovereignty of a cloud service and allows a direct comparison between different offers.
Use at European level
The framework serves in particular EU institutions as a reference framework for evaluation in public tenders. In this context, it acts as an assessment basis, which defines on the one hand both basic requirements which, in the case of non-refilling, can exclude providers and on the other hand make offers more comparable.
Also for private enterprises, the framework can be a useful guide to better arrange offers in terms of their sovereignty.
This means that the framework has the potential to develop far beyond the public sector.
Impacts on providers and market structures
For cloud providers, the framework brings new requirements and challenges. In particular, the requirements for transparency and detection are increasing significantly. Providers must, for example, explain in detail how their services are built and where data are processed.
At the same time, competition changes: In addition to classic factors such as price and performance, the degree of detectable sovereignty becomes a decisive criterion. This can be a real advantage for EU suppliers, especially for the public sector.
A question that arises is whether European suppliers are able to efficiently meet the increasing requirements for documentation, supply chain management and compliance.
Classification into the European Digital Strategy
The Cloud Sovereignty Framework is part of a more comprehensive European strategy to strengthen digital sovereignty. It takes up central principles of existing initiatives such as GAIA-X and regulatory framework requirements such as the NIS2 and the DORA.
Unlike the NIS2 directive, which regulates the security of critical services, the new Cloud Sovereignty Framework has a clear focus on control and independence.
Legal aspects such as the US CLOUD Act are used as relevant assessment criteria for data access and sovereignty and thus enable a more differentiated classification of cloud offerings. (More about the legal consequences of the US CLOUD Act can be found in our Blog post on the legal opinion of the University of Cologne on the access of US authorities to data.)
Thus, cloud sovereignty becomes an assessment framework for politics, administration and business.
Conclusion: A new reference framework for digital independence
With the Cloud Sovereignty Framework, the European Union is introducing a uniform system for evaluating digital sovereignty in the cloud. The combination of clearly defined goals and a stepped evaluation system enables an abstract concept to be operationalized and allows comparisons.
The framework thus creates orientation for decision-makers and sets new standards for providers. It may provide incentives through award criteria that lead to adjustments in the offer of the providers.
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