Position paper offers three layer model to reduce digital dependencies.
A broad coalition of Dutch companies and organisations has presented a practical roadmap for strengthening Dutch digital autonomy with a three-layer model for government-wide cloud policy. The position paper setting out this approach was received on May 27th 2025 by Dutch Members of Parliament Barbara Kathmann (GL-PvdA) and Jesse Six Dijkstra (NSC). The coalition was formed on the initiative of Digitale Infrastructuur Nederland (DINL), Intermax, NBIP (National Management Organisation for Internet Providers) and Solvinity. Dutch Cloud Community, NorthC Datacenters, Centric, SLTN, and Uniserver are co-signatories.
The model
In the paper, entitled ‘Strategic digital autonomy and government-wide cloud policy,’ the organisations argue that the Dutch government’s digital dependence on non-European hyperscalers poses an unacceptable risk to national security and must be phased out quickly.
The organisations therefore propose that, in addition to state secrets, new requirements for digital autonomy be imposed on sensitive government data, essential government services and critical physical infrastructure. This will give the government more control over cloud services and the data and information it stores in them.
Marijn van Vliet, director of DINL, on the proposal: ‘In practice, it is proving difficult to flesh out the details of our strategic digital autonomy. However, the risks are enormous. We need a way forward that is both practical and legally tenable. With the model we are proposing, the government can get started on taking concrete steps in the short term and gaining control over its digital autonomy.’ The model presented by the coalition in the paper is based on three layers:
1. State secret data, information and applications that are always stored and processed under its own management and on its own territory
2. Data, information and applications subject to autonomy requirements, such as additional tendering requirements and EU ownership and control
3. Government-wide cloud policy, in which public cloud use is permitted in principle, but data portability and interoperability are mandatory
The model shows that relatively modest interventions can quickly lead to major steps towards reducing the Dutch government’s digital dependence, according to Daniëlle Schuur, CEO of Solvinity. ‘Digital sovereignty does not have to be a dot on the horizon: it is here, it is possible, and it can be achieved quickly. The government can play a leading role in this by enhancing its own policy, protecting our vital infrastructure, further developing our innovative strength and building a sovereign cloud sector that also relies on Dutch knowledge and expertise.’
Where it is almost taken for granted that digital services and infrastructure are sourced outside the Netherlands or Europe, the coalition argues that this severely limits the ability of the Netherlands and the EU to provide sovereign cloud services. ‘We really do have what it takes,’ says Ludo Baauw, CEO of Intermax Group. “It is often assumed that the cloud functionality required by the government is only available from a few hyperscalers. However, numerous Dutch businesses are involved in the development, hosting and management of data, applications and digital platforms for the Dutch government and the vital infrastructure of our society. The reason the government is not finding its way to local providers is that the policy is inadequate and alternatives therefore do not stand a serious chance. At the same time, we are perpetuating this situation because government spending on cloud services often ends up outside the Netherlands and Europe.”
Broad support for change of course
The Dutch House of Representatives has adopted motions to reduce risky dependencies and impose sovereignty requirements on vital government IT. The cabinet wants to review its cloud policy. The authors of the position paper emphasise that they are not advocating digital isolation. Octavia de Weerdt, director of the NBIP foundation, says: “The issue of strategic digital autonomy is seen as very urgent by all those involved. There is a need for a middle ground where we can safeguard this while not carelessly dismissing the innovations of large international cloud providers. In our view, the three-layer model offers a feasible way to implement the recommendations of regulators and the motions of the House of Representatives. It is obvious that the government and private parties should work together, for example to ensure that tenders in which autonomy requirements are important are awarded to the right parties.”
The position paper can be downloaded via this link (Dutch only). Parties wishing to join the coalition can contact DINL.
