Markets Germany 2/25 - Cloud Kings in White Spaces

Cover Markets Germany 2/25 | © Kammann Rossi/ Verena Matl/generated with AI

Whatever you may think about 2025 so far, it certainly hasn’t been boring. The United States has a new government, and so does Germany. The conservatives under Chancellor Friedrich Merz now lead Europe’s largest economy in coalition with the Social Democrats. And that has brought a different set of priorities to government (even if some might sound familiar).

As Merz made clear when announcing the coalition agreement, one of the principal challenges facing Europe and Germany in 2025 is how to achieve greater autonomy — in a variety of areas from the economy to global relations to defense. 

Ahead of the change of guard, Germany’s parliament enacted constitutional changes to free up a half-trillion euros in credit for infrastructure, economic stimulus and climate protection. Defense spending has been exempted from state debt limits, and regional and local governments in Germany have greater leeway.

It is fitting then that our top story concerns European sovereignty — in the domain of cloud computing. Calls for a cloud infrastructure independent of the US and China have been around for some time — and some progress has been made, although there is much more action to come. 

Ironically, developing European autonomy is an international effort, and many companies outside Germany are already benefiting. The shift in German and EU policy remains global and international, not inward looking. In this spirit, I invite you to delve into the latest issue of Markets Germany.

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