Dutch parliament calls for end to dependence on US software companies

  • Facebook.
  • Twitter.
  • LinkedIn.
  • Print

AMSTERDAM, March 18 (Reuters) - The Netherlands' parliament on Tuesday approved a series of motions calling on the government to reduce dependence on U.S. software companies, including by creating a cloud services platform under Dutch control.

While such initiatives have foundered in the past due to a lack of viable European alternatives, lawmakers said changing relations with the United States under the presidency of Donald Trump have given the issue fresh urgency.

"The question we as Europeans must ask ourselves is: do we feel comfortable with people like Trump, (Meta CEO Mark) Zuckerberg and (X owner Elon) Musk ruling over our data?" said Marieke Koekkoek of the pro-European Volt party, who authored one of the eight motions, in an email to Reuters.

In addition to launching a sovereign cloud services platform, the motions called on the government to re-examine a decision to use Amazon's ( AMZN ) web services for the Netherlands' internet domain hosting, and to develop alternatives to U.S. software and preferential treatment for European firms in public tenders.

The vote comes a day after dozens of European tech firms called on the European Commission to create a sovereign fund to invest in European technology, including cloud infrastructure, and a "Buy European" mandate.

A spokesperson for the Economic Affairs ministry declined comment.

Bert Hubert, a Dutch technology expert who has advocated for reducing dependency on the U.S., said: "This is only the first step in potentially doing something."

But he said one important outcome would be forcing agencies to publicly report on risks related to their reliance on U.S. cloud firms.

"With the advent of Trump 2.0, it has become clear that this is not something you can harmlessly sign off on," he said.

One issue cited in the debate ahead of Tuesday's vote was the possibility that Microsoft ( MSFT ) could stop working with the Netherlands-based International Criminal Court.

The Trump administration imposed sanctions on the war crimes court last month after it issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Amazon ( AMZN ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ) did not immediately respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by David Goodman, Bernadette Baum and Hugh Lawson)

(c) Reuters 2025. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

  • Facebook.
  • Twitter.
  • LinkedIn.
  • Print
close
Please enter a valid e-mail address
Please enter a valid e-mail address
Important legal information about the e-mail you will be sending. By using this service, you agree to input your real e-mail address and only send it to people you know. It is a violation of law in some jurisdictions to falsely identify yourself in an e-mail. All information you provide will be used by Fidelity solely for the purpose of sending the e-mail on your behalf.The subject line of the e-mail you send will be "Fidelity.com: "

Your e-mail has been sent.
close

Your e-mail has been sent.

Most Helpful Insights