US Cloud Services Won't Face Regulatory Hurdles in the Netherlands

By Netvora Tech News

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The Dutch government has decided against imposing regulations to limit the use of American cloud services by the public sector. This was revealed by State Secretary for Digitalization, Raymond Szabo, during a debate in the Dutch parliament on Wednesday. While the government will consider prioritizing European and Dutch cloud providers when making choices, Szabo emphasized that there will be no caps on the use of US-based cloud services. Szabo also expressed his commitment to implementing a sovereign cloud solution for the Dutch government. The debate centered around the "Clouds on the Horizon" initiative by the PvdA-GroenLinks and NSC parties, which aims to increase the use of European and Dutch cloud services by the government. The initiative proposes that the Dutch government should use at least 30% of cloud services from local or European providers by 2029. Szabo acknowledged that the initiative had sparked an important debate on digital sovereignty, autonomy, and the need for a unified cloud strategy among government agencies. However, he rejected the idea of imposing a specific percentage target, such as the one proposed by the initiative. Instead, he plans to centralize cloud procurement, which would provide more certainty for Dutch and European companies. "The US is and will remain an important partner in many areas, including our security and prosperity," Szabo said. "At the same time, we must take more responsibility ourselves. Let's work together as a European Union and take initiatives as the Netherlands." The State Secretary will present the Netherlands' Digitalization Strategy, a 10-page document outlining the country's cloud strategy, on Friday. The strategy will also cover the implementation of the sovereign cloud solution and the expansion of the country's cloud policy to cover all government agencies.