European Groups Push for New Cybersecurity Rules to Protect Cloud Services

Imagine you’re picking a company to store your photos and files online safely. You’d want to choose one you can trust, right? That’s what a group of 23 businesses and organizations in Europe are worried about. They wrote a letter on February 11, 2025, to Henna Virkkunnen, a leader in charge of technology for the European Union (EU), asking her to approve a plan that helps people pick secure companies for storing data online. This plan is called the European Cybersecurity Certification Scheme for Cloud Services, or EUCS for short.

The EUCS is like a label that tells you which companies are good at keeping your information safe when you use their “cloud services.” Cloud services are when you store stuff—like photos, documents, or videos—on the internet instead of on your own computer. This is a big deal because companies around the world make billions of euros (the money used in Europe) every year by offering these services.

The EUCS idea started in 2020 by a group called ENISA, which works on keeping the internet safe in Europe. Since then, the plan has changed a few times. The latest version, updated in March 2024, made some big adjustments. Originally, it had rules that forced huge American companies—like Amazon, Google (owned by Alphabet), and Microsoft—to team up with European companies or set up special partnerships to get the best safety label. But those rules got taken out in 2024. Now, the plan focuses only on how well a company can protect your data, not where the company is from.

The 23 groups say this change is a good thing. In their letter, they wrote, “We would like to respectfully urge your support for the swift adoption of the European Cybersecurity Certification Scheme for Cloud Services.” They think the updated plan from 2024 balances strong safety rules with keeping the market open for all companies, which helps Europe’s tech world grow strong and safe.

Some of the groups signing the letter include Allied for StartUps, the American Chamber of Commerce in countries like Estonia, Finland, Italy, Romania, and Spain, and the Association of German Banks. Others are from Germany, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Portugal—all working together to support this idea.

But there’s a problem: the European Commission, which is like the EU’s decision-making team, might delay or even cancel the plan. The groups are worried this could happen, so they’re asking Henna Virkkunnen to act fast. The Commission said they got the letter and will respond later.

In short, these European groups want a system that makes it easier for people and governments to choose safe cloud services, and they’re asking their leaders to make it happen soon!