05 Dr Christoph Wegner Chief Digital Officer, BASF SE
“Digital sovereignty means that we retain complete control over our data. And at the same time, not be restricted in our global competitiveness.�
Creating a European Cloud Architecture Cloud-based services are among the central enablers of the digital transformation of the economy and society. Against this background, Europe must now build up its own capabilities in the cloud-based processing of large amounts of data at a rapid pace, in order to strengthen its own competitiveness in the long term and meet its own security requirements. However, the aim cannot be to build a European hyperscaler based on existing US and Chinese models. Rather, the EU must press ahead with the creation of an interoperable platform for cloud solutions that is ready for future technologies. It should bring together existing cloud offerings with user needs in line with market requirements and should be based on open interfaces. For the strengthening of European cloud computing capabilities to be successful in the long term, the following principles must be ensured: First, the EU needs its own open platform for cloud solutions with clear governance. The offers and services provided via such a platform must be based on standards that fully comply with the European legal and value system and guarantee the highest degree of digital sovereignty. These offers and services should also follow an open source approach, if possible. Their functionalities should be oriented towards the requirements and needs of users. Every market participant which meets these criteria (including objectively justifiable security requirements) should be allowed to offer its cloud services on the platform, after the platform for cloud solutions has been established. Secondly, a European model must be market-based, efficient and flexible. Like all offerings on the market, a European platform for cloud solutions would be subject to supervision by public authorities. However, the operation and organisation of such a service must be exclusively market-based. In order to counteract lock-in effects, users must be able to link different offers or switch between the offers of different providers at any time and without much effort. Thirdly, the European platform for cloud solutions must be based on a general public framework and private sector funding. If necessary, it should be initiated as a public-private partnership. It is also important to harness the demand potential of the public sector by making use of the offers of the European platform for cloud solutions by the EU institutions and public authorities in the individual member states. For Europe to become attractive as a location for cloud solutions, an appropriate ecosystem is also needed. For example, energy and climate policy instruments must also be taken into account and targeted investments in digital education must be sought.
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