The Dutch government has signed its first deal with a European cloud provider, Germany’s StackIT, as ministries look to reduce dependence on US technology firms.

Equivalent agreements are in place with Google, Microsoft, and Amazon – the US tech giants whose services currently host the bulk of government systems.

Under the new arrangement, ministries and other government bodies can buy cloud services from StackIT – part of the Schwarz Group, which owns supermarket chains Lidl and Kaufland – under pre-agreed terms. Data must be stored within the European Economic Area, the government has audit rights to check compliance, and there are clauses allowing contracts to be ended if StackIT itself falls into non-European hands.

Willemijn Aerdts, the junior minister for the digital economy said the deal would strengthen the country’s digital autonomy. “Digital autonomy means we can make our own choices from a diverse range of providers,” she said in a statement. “That is why it is important we stimulate the European market.”

Justice and security minister David van Weel said the agreement was “an important step in reducing our dependence on parties outside Europe and strengthening our digital resilience.”

US dependence

Currently, ministries rely almost entirely on the big American platforms. Research by public broadcaster NOS earlier this year found that 67% of some 16,500 websites used by government bodies, hospitals, schools and other essential organisations are linked to at least one American cloud service.

Under the US Cloud Act, cloud providers can be required by law to hand over information to the US government, even when data is stored in Europe. Concerns about that exposure have erupted recently, with MPs uniting around calls to keep servers and storage for government systems in Dutch or at least European hands.

The StackIT agreement comes as the cabinet faces a May 6 deadline to decide whether to extend the contract under which Dutch cloud firm Solvinity runs the DigiD digital identity system, which most residents use to access tax, health and other public services.

Solvinity is being taken over by US IT giant Kyndryl, and a senior privacy adviser at digital services agency Logius warned this month that approval would put detailed information about everyone in the Netherlands within reach of US authorities. Parliament has called on the government to end the Solvinity contract if the takeover goes ahead.

The StackIT framework does not oblige government organisations to migrate and sets no minimum spend. It is not yet clear whether the German platform’s services are cheaper or more expensive than the American alternatives.

The agreement was negotiated by central procurement arm SLM Rijk and has taken immediate effect.