Dutch parliament calls for end to dependence on US software companies

The parliament approves a series of motions calling on the government to reduce dependence on US software companies

Lights illuminate at the Dutch Parliament building, ahead of the Dutch parliamentary election, in The Hague, Netherlands, Nov 21, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman

The Netherlands' parliament on Tuesday approved a series of motions calling on the government to reduce dependence on US 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 web services for the Netherlands' internet domain hosting, and to develop alternatives to US 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 US, 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 US 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 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 and Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment.