Microsoft is trying to reassure the EU market that it can be counted on to protect the EU’s interest, even in the face of increasing geopolitical volatility.

Microsoft is one of the leading cloud providers, second only to AWS, but is facing increasing headwinds as a result of the world’s changing political climate. The Trump administration’s trade wars and territorial threats have risked alienating long-time allies, and countries are increasingly casting a wary eye on American businesses and services. Few industries are more impacted than the tech industry, especially given the risk involved with sensitive data storage.

In an effort to address those concerns, Microsoft President Brad Smith has authored a blog post outlining the company’s commitment to protecting EU interests.

In a time of geopolitical volatility, we are committed to providing digital stability. That is why today Microsoft is announcing five digital commitments to Europe. These start with an expansion of our cloud and AI infrastructure in Europe, aimed at enabling every country to fully use these technologies to strengthen their economic competitiveness. And they include a promise to uphold Europe’s digital resilience regardless of geopolitical and trade volatility.

As a multinational company, we believe in trans-Atlantic ties that promote mutual economic growth and prosperity. ​We were pleased the Trump administration and the European Union recently agreed to suspend further tariff escalation while they seek to negotiate a reciprocal trade agreement. We hope that successful talks can resolve tariff issues and reduce non-tariff barriers, consistent with the recommendations in the recent Draghi report.

Building EU Infrastructure

Smith then goes on to highlight concrete steps Microsoft is taking to ensure it meets the EU’s needs.

Microsoft is investing tens of billions of dollars annually in expanding its datacenters across Europe. These investments aren’t on wheels. They are permanent structures and subject to local laws, regulations, and governments. Like every citizen and company, we don’t always agree with every policy of every government. But even when we’ve lost cases in European courts, Microsoft has long respected and complied with European laws.

We understand that European laws apply to our business practices in Europe, just as local laws apply to local practices in the United States and similar laws apply elsewhere in the world. This includes European competition law and the Digital Markets Act, among others. We’re committed not only to building digital infrastructure for Europe, but to respecting the role that laws across Europe play in regulating our products and services.

Microsoft Will Vigorously Defend EU Interests in Court

Under the heading “We will uphold Europe’s digital resilience even when there is geopolitical volatility,” Smith makes his strongest statement regarding the lengths Microsoft will go to protect EU interests.

In the unlikely event we are ever ordered by any government anywhere in the world to suspend or cease cloud operations in Europe, we are committing that Microsoft will promptly and vigorously contest such a measure using all legal avenues available, including by pursuing litigation in court. By including a new European Digital Resilience Commitment in all of our contracts with European national governments and the European Commission, we will make this commitment legally binding on Microsoft Corporation and all its subsidiaries.

Microsoft has a demonstrated history of pursuing litigation when that has been needed to protect the rights of our customers and other stakeholders. This includes four lawsuits we filed against the U.S. Executive Branch during President Obama’s tenure, including to protect the privacy of our customers’ data in the United States and Europe. It also included, during President Trump’s first term, a successful decision before the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the rights of employees who are immigrants. When necessary, we’re prepared to go to court.

We are confident of our legal rights to ensure continuous operation of our datacenters in Europe. And we are prepared to back this confidence with our contractual commitments to European governments.

Conclusion

The fact that Smith has even penned this blog underscores the pressure American tech companies are under to maintain good relations with customers outside the US. With mounting geopolitical tension, companies are clearly concerned that anti-American sentiment could lead to devastating losses.

Only time will tell if Microsoft’s olive branch to the EU is successful.