Europe is moving data sovereignty from debate to law. Discover how emerging EU rules, procurement standards, and sovereign cloud models—like Workday’s EU Sovereign Cloud—are reshaping how organisations manage, store, and protect data.
For years, policymakers, technologists, and business leaders have argued over what “data sovereignty” really means. Some see it as an industrial policy objective, others as a data protection issue. Once a topic for white papers and conferences, it now shapes boardroom agendas and national strategies. With international trade friction, military conflict and geopolitical tension, the move towards reshoring economic activity, building resilience, and investing in strategic technologies like cloud and AI, the debate on sovereignty has moved up the agenda. A Summit on European Digital Sovereignty is taking place at this moment, hosted by the governments of France and Germany.
In the coming years, sovereignty rules will likely move from debate and declarations into law,technical standards and procurement guidelines. The European Commission has recently launched a Cloud Sovereignty Framework for its own procurement. In the coming year, we are likely to see forms of sovereignty requirements in forthcoming EU legislation such as the Cloud and AI Development Act, revised EU public procurement rules and in cybersecurity rules and certification schemes.
These measures will be most relevant for public sector organisations and regulated industries first—finance, healthcare, and others where compliance and confidentiality are essential. However, we expect increased interest across the board in cloud solutions that offer enhanced options for regionalised data storage, processing and support under local oversight.
That’s why companies are developing sovereign cloud models that support data residency, local operations, and regional support without losing performance or flexibility. As Rich Sauer, Chief Legal Officer at Workday, said, this builds on years of collaboration with European customers and reflects a shared vision where trust and compliance are built into the system.
Workday’s sovereign cloud capabilities seek to to give customers more choice in how and where their data is managed.With Workday EU Sovereign Cloud, Workday is introducing a trusted EU-based environment that keeps customer data inside the EU, is supported by EU-based personnel, complemented by encryption, independent audits, and transparent oversight. Availability begins in 2026 for European customers.
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Empowering our global customers to thrive has always been at Workday’s core and in today's dynamic geopolitical and AI regulatory landscape, particularly in the European Union, we are focused on providing customers with the tools and assurances they need to confidently adapt to today’s uncertainty.
