Seven Dutch IT companies have formed an Open Cloud Alliance and offered the government a sovereign cloud, backed by TNO and a national digital infrastructure foundation. Their claim: the platforms and data centres already exist in the Netherlands and could host critical systems and sensitive data at short notice. The plan leans on open standards, so that governments can switch providers more easily.
I am glad this exists, and that last line is the one I will hold them to. Moving from an American provider to a Dutch one only helps if you could leave the Dutch one too. Otherwise you have swapped a distant landlord for a closer one. Sovereignty is not about the flag on the data centre. It is about open standards, portable workloads and an exit plan you have tested. Ask every sovereign cloud the same question you ask the hyperscalers: show me how I leave.