Inside a successful AWS European Sovereign Cloud exercise to demonstrate independent operation

This article describes a successful exercise demonstrating that the AWS European Sovereign Cloud can operate independently without depending on infrastructure outside the EU.

• On October 24, 2026, AWS switched off global systems and ran the sovereign cloud using only EU-based resources and staff
• Workloads continued running and customers maintained access to their data during the exercise
• The AWS European Sovereign Cloud is physically and logically separate from other AWS Regions with no critical non-EU dependencies
• Managed by dedicated European legal entities under German law, operated entirely within Europe by EU residents
• Exercise provides verifiable technical evidence for regulated industries and public sector compliance documentation

The demonstration validates the AWS European Sovereign Cloud's operational independence and strengthens trust for organizations with stringent sovereignty requirements.