The European Commission will launch the European Alliance for Industrial Data and Cloud. The Alliance will be composed of representatives from Member States, cloud computing providers and industrial cloud users and should mobilize up to € 10 bn for the creation of a European Federated Cloud. To this end, the Alliance will likely yield an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI). The Alliance will also develop an EU Cloud Rulebook and an EU Cloud Marketplace with the overall view to foster the development of cloud computing in Europe, based on European legal standards and values.

The EIF Debate will focus on a number of issues around this initiative: Can a European Federated Cloud compete with the investment and innovation capacity of the global cloud hyper-scalers? Is there a need for a European Federated Cloud and a justification for a related IPCEI? And will the public sector in Europe become early adopters of the services of a European Federated Cloud? How does the Alliance relate to GAIA-X, an initiative with similar objectives driven by the German and French Government? Will a European Federated Cloud be open for non-European cloud providers? Or will the initiative lead to European protectionism and tensions with our trading partners?

• Programme

  Opening remarks

  Pilar del Castillo MEP and EIF Chair

  Speakers

  Pearse O'Donohue, Director for the Future Networks Directorate, DG CONNECT, European Commission

  St?phane Demartis, Vice President for Cloud infrastructure solutions and services, Orange

  Jo Stark, Director of Strategic Business Development, IBM

  Moderator

  Maria Rosa Gibellini, Director General, European Internet Forum

  Exchange of views with the participants under the Chatham House rule