Brussels Targets Cloud Gatekeepers

The Commission says AWS and Azure may fall under Europe’s toughest digital market rules as cloud infrastructure becomes central to AI and business dependence

The European Commission has taken a significant step toward bringing Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure under the Digital Markets Act, arguing that the two cloud platforms may function as gatekeepers in Europe’s digital economy even though they do not meet the law’s usual numerical thresholds.

In a same-day preliminary finding published on 25 June, the Commission said it had informed Amazon and Microsoft that their cloud computing services should be designated as gatekeepers under the DMA. The decision is not final. Both companies can inspect the case file and respond before Brussels decides whether to impose the full set of obligations.

Cloud moves to the centre of EU tech policy

The Commission’s preliminary position on AWS and Azure marks a shift in how Europe views digital power. Cloud services are no longer seen only as background infrastructure. They now underpin artificial intelligence, public administration, finance, healthcare, retail, manufacturing and many of the services European citizens use every day.

Brussels argues that AWS and Azure act as important gateways between businesses and customers in the EU. That matters because companies that build around one cloud ecosystem can face high switching costs, technical lock-in, and practical barriers to interoperability with rival services.

The Commission opened cloud market investigations in November 2025 to assess whether Amazon and Microsoft should be covered by the DMA despite falling below the standard thresholds for gatekeeper designation. Those investigations also examined whether existing DMA obligations are strong enough to deal with cloud-sector practices such as tying, bundling, restricted access to data and obstacles to interoperability.

A preliminary finding, not a final ruling

The legal posture is important. Amazon and Microsoft have not yet been finally designated as cloud gatekeepers. The Commission’s finding begins the next stage of due process, giving both companies the chance to challenge the evidence and argue that their services should not fall under the regime.

If the Commission confirms its view, AWS and Azure would join the list of core platform services subject to DMA duties. The rules are designed to stop the largest digital platforms from using entrenched market positions to disadvantage competitors or business users. In practice, that could mean closer scrutiny of interoperability, self-preferencing, contractual terms and access conditions for companies that depend on cloud infrastructure.

The Brussels Times reported that AWS and Azure are the largest and second-largest cloud providers in the EU and together account for about 60% of the market, while also noting early objections from both companies. Amazon criticised what it described as an unnecessary regulatory layer, while Microsoft questioned why Google Cloud was not included in the same study, according to the Brussels-based outlet.

Europe’s AI ambitions depend on the cloud

The case lands at a sensitive moment for Europe’s digital strategy. EU institutions are trying to support home-grown innovation while also limiting dependence on a small number of non-European infrastructure providers. That tension is especially visible in artificial intelligence, where cloud capacity, data access and computing power can determine which companies scale and which remain marginal.

The European Times recently reported on how Europe is trying to turn research and start-up talent into larger technology companies through new innovation funding and sovereignty-focused support. That wider push for European tech champions will be difficult if smaller firms cannot move data, services or workloads between cloud providers on fair terms.

For policymakers, the cloud case is therefore not only about Amazon and Microsoft. It is about whether Europe’s digital economy can remain open enough for new entrants, secure enough for public-interest uses, and competitive enough to avoid reproducing the same concentration that shaped earlier platform markets.

The next decision will carry wider consequences

A final designation would not settle every competition concern in cloud computing. It would, however, bring two of the sector’s most influential actors into a regulatory framework built around contestability and fairness. That could strengthen the position of business users seeking clearer terms and more technical freedom, but it could also trigger a broader dispute over how far Europe should go in regulating infrastructure that is increasingly global, complex and capital-intensive.

The Commission is now trying to draw a careful line: firm enough to prevent structural lock-in, but procedural enough to withstand legal challenge. The outcome will be watched not only by cloud providers, but by every European company, public body and research institution building its future on rented computing power.