A group of top European businesses, which includes big names such as Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Airbus, and 15 others have voiced their displeasure with a new draft proposal put forward by Belgium. Currently at the helm of the EU presidency. Belgium’s plan could pave the way for American Tech heavyweights like Amazon, Google from Alphabet, and Microsoft To snatch up important EU Cloud computing contracts that deal with sensitive information.

The issue these Companies have taken is with the proposal’s objective to set up a certification system (EUCS) for ensuring that cloud services are secure. although this strategy aims to smooth out the process for EU governments and businesses when choosing trustworthy cloud service providers’. It misses out on including past sovereignty rules. Earlier on these decreed that US tech conglomerates had to partner up with firms based in Europe to handle data storage and processing within EU borders if they wanted to bag those golden cybersecurity accolades from the EU Cybersecurity Label

• Experts from the 27 EU countries are set to talk about the proposal on March 15.
• If things go as planned, the Belgian idea might get the European Commission’s OK this fall.

Worries About Data Sovereignty and Security

A bunch of EU businesses are pushing back. They’ve told government bodies and big shots at the Commission to toss out this plan because it’s got some big issues with keeping data under control and safe. Here’s what they’re worried about,

• We need stuff in there about having an EU address and being run by Europeans, so we don’t have any sneaky data grabs based on laws from other places like America’s Cloud Act or China’s National Intelligence Law.
• Not having these protections means smalltime EU cloud services will struggle against the big American players.
• Ditching these rules is just going to mess up chances for independent cloud companies to make good in Europe.

Cloud Solutions in Europe – many businesses are working on or have already launched cloud solutions in Europe,” said several companies in an official statement. The firms that signed this statement include large organisations like France’s EDF, cloud computing services such as OVHcloud and Aruba, Dassault Systemes, Germany’s Ionos, Telecom Italia from Italy, Exoscale from Austria, French enterprise Capgemini, and satellite operator Eutelsat.

Nippon Steel’s EU Antitrust Review

In related news, Nippon Steel Corporation is taking over US Steel Corporation for $14.9 billion. This big deal is in the hands of the European Union’s antitrust officials who must make a decision by May 17. The process began on April 9 and is under a fast track review because they don’t think it will cause much fuss over competition or because these companies aren’t really big players in the market.

Even though things look good in the EU for Nippon Steel,, they’re running into some problems with U.S. regulators about buying US Steel. The agreement was reached in December at a high cost.

EU’s Wider Moves Against Monopolies and Hacking Threats

Other EU developments point to efforts against monopolies and hacking,

• South Korea Must Pay $32 Million Over Samsung Merger Issue – This underlines ongoing world disputes related to monopolies.
• Margrethe Vestager Pushes EU Forward Against Chinese Green Tech – She concentrates on fair competition in vital eco friendly tech industries.
• Fears of Big Tech’s Hold Over AI Raises Red Flags in the UK – The UK is wary of big companies pouring money into artificial intelligence, which could lead to a single company running the show.
• EUUS Tech Fair Play Talks – They’re working together to ensure no single company takes over the technological field.

Conclusion

In facing these intricate challenges about global tech battles and cybersecurity, what the EU decides is pivotal.In the next few months, big changes are coming that’ll affect tech in Europe and around the world. Keep an eye on these important events. EU officials are trying to juggle new ideas with keeping things safe and fair.