critical infrastructure lab

On July 8, 2024, an important multistakeholder meeting took place at Huys Clingendael, organized by the Clingendael Institute in collaboration with Internet Society Netherlands (ISOC NL). During this event, titled “Digital Sovereignty: Sense or Nonsense?”, around 150 stakeholders and experts gathered to discuss the current state of digital sovereignty and to identify concrete steps to ensure digital autonomy. Ruben Brave, chairman of ISOC NL, opened the meeting with an inspiring speech, followed by Maaike Okano-Heijmans, Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Geopolitics of Technology and Digitization Program at the Clingendael Institute, who moderated the sessions.

Theme I – Data Sovereignty: What Do We Want to Protect?

• Availability and Access: The panelists emphasized the risk of losing access to essential data and the need to reduce dependence on non-European cloud providers.
• Protection of Information: There was a debate about which information should remain within Europe and be actively protected, especially in sectors like defense, public administration, energy, and healthcare.
• Solutions: A balanced approach combining both protection and efficient data processing was seen as necessary to ensure both security and innovation.

Theme II – European Beehive Cloud Megascaler

• Scope and Definition: Developing an all-in-one package with essential services such as S3 object storage, Kubernetes, and IAM, meeting the highest safety and interoperability standards.
• Role of the Government: The government was encouraged to act as both a customer and investor, and to stimulate prototyping and the creation of a Beehive Cloud Megascaler.

The critical infrastructure lab fellow, Corinne Cath, contributed to the gathering as a member of the expert panel, together with Diana Krieger, Bert Hubert, Martijn Lucassen and Paul Brand.

Please find more information, including key takeaways and a preview of an upcoming follow-up event in October 2024 (in Dutch) here.