EU Cloud Rules Put Big Tech Tenders at Risk

EU draft rules on cloud services — part of a proposed Cloud and AI Development Act — could force governments to use non-price criteria (including where software and hardware are developed) when awarding highly sensitive public-sector cloud contracts. That would reduce reliance on US cloud providers and could make it harder for Alphabet (GOOG.OQ), Amazon (AMZN.OQ) and Microsoft (MSFT.OQ) to win strategic state tenders in Europe despite competitive pricing. The move is intended to boost European tech sovereignty and local cloud/AI capacity, and could pressure revenue exposure and valuations for US cloud vendors with meaningful EU public-sector business.