The rise of genAI and growing geopolitical tensions are reshaping Europe’s cloud strategy. Concerns over sovereignty, resilience, and hyperscaler dependence are mounting as US tech giants aggressively offer free AI pilots, prompting European firms to question long-term lock-in. Distinct labor practices, union influence, and swift regulatory action make Europe’s tech landscape uniquely reactive to political shifts — often at odds with US norms. In response, European enterprises are doubling down on private cloud, open-source tools, and sovereign cloud platforms. This report explores how AI-native adoption, sovereignty priorities, and economic nationalism are driving a new phase of cloud evolution in Europe.