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Microsoft outlines five commitments for Europe:
- Help build a broad AI and cloud ecosystem across Europe. Microsoft plans to increase European datacenter capacity by 40% over two years, expanding operations across 16 European countries/regions and creating more than 200 datacenters on the continent by 2027 to support innovation and competitiveness.
- Uphold Europe’s digital resilience even when there's geopolitical volatility. Microsoft commits to a Digital Resilience Promise for European government customers to contest any order to suspend or stop cloud operations in Europe. It strengthens the connection between Microsoft and Europe by overseeing European datacenter operations through a European board of directors operating under European law.
- Continue to protect the privacy of European data. Microsoft emphasizes customer control over where data is stored and processed, how it’s encrypted, and when Microsoft can access it, further building on initiatives such as the EU Data Boundary and documented privacy safeguards.
- Always help protect and defend Europe’s cybersecurity. Microsoft highlights ongoing collaboration with European institutions and governments. It describes an expanded, Europe-focused security posture and programs designed to strengthen cyber resilience in the region.
- Help strengthen Europe’s economic competitiveness, including for open source. The commitments highlight support for an open, competitive European technology ecosystem, including open-source development and broad access to AI and cloud capabilities.
Why these commitments are important
- Digital stability in uncertain times: Europe faces evolving geopolitical and trade volatility. Microsoft’s commitments pledge to provide digital stability for European customers and public institutions even amid uncertainty.
- Clearer assurance on continuity of service: The Digital Resilience Promise, including Microsoft’s commitment to vigorously contest any order to shut down cloud operations in Europe, aims to reduce operational and legal uncertainty for governments and critical services.
- Alignment with European values and laws: Microsoft highlights its long-standing ties to Europe and commitment to comply with European law, reflecting the region’s leadership on privacy and security.
- Independent verification and public transparency: Microsoft made public statements at a Brussels event hosted by the Atlantic Council and published them on its official blog and Trust Center, creating a verifiable basis for customers and policymakers.
How the commitments deliver customer value
Mapping Microsoft's commitments to European value.
Build a broad AI and cloud ecosystem: Additional European infrastructure capacity (40% growth; 16 countries/regions; 200+ datacenters) supports performance, proximity, and resilience goals for European workloads. Expanded platforms and services promote innovation for startups, public sector, and enterprises, including open-source communities.
Uphold Europe’s digital resilience during geopolitical volatility: The Digital Resilience Promise provides a contractual assurance (for relevant public-sector contexts) that Microsoft will contest orders to cease operations, reinforcing business continuity planning. European governance. Oversight of European datacenter operations by a board of European nationals under European law increases regional accountability.
Protect the privacy of European data: Customers gain stronger control over data location and processing with public documentation of privacy safeguards and options such as the EU Data Boundary. Public commitments emphasize Microsoft’s history of challenging overbroad government requests, providing legal and technical layers of protection.
Protect and defend Europe’s cybersecurity: Microsoft highlights European security initiatives and partnerships aligned to bolster resilience and incident response capabilities for organizations across the region.
Strengthen Europe’s economic competitiveness (including open source): Emphasis on open participation in AI and cloud ecosystems supports developer choice, accelerates time‑to‑value, and helps avoid lock‑in.
Key takeaways for decision‑makers
- These commitments are public and verifiable: Review the official 'Microsoft On the Issues' blog post and the Trust Center pages for source details and ongoing updates.
- Continuity + compliance + control: The emphasis on service continuity under stress, alignment with European law, and customer control over data forms the core of the value proposition for European organizations.
- Ecosystem‑first approach: Scaling capacity and supporting open, interoperable ecosystems aim to expand economic opportunity and innovation across Europe.
Frequently asked questions
When and where were these commitments announced? On April 30, 2025, in a public event hosted by the Atlantic Council in Brussels, and in an official 'Microsoft On the Issues blog' post.
What is the “Digital Resilience Promise”? For relevant European public‑sector contexts, Microsoft commits to contest any order to suspend or cease cloud operations in Europe and to work with European partners to ensure continuity of cloud operations in the unlikely event such an order is issued.
Does this change how my organization handles data privacy? The commitments reinforce existing privacy options and documentation (for example, around data residency and processing transparency). Organizations should continue to consult Microsoft’s Trust Center documentation and their own compliance counsel.