A group of nine MEPs led by Helmut Brandstätter (Renew) and Lara Wolters (S&D) have raised concerns about the European payment system Wero relying on servers owned by Amazon Web Services (AWS), a US company subject to American surveillance laws. In a parliamentary question submitted on 9 June 2026, the MEPs warn that the CLOUD Act, FISA, the Patriot Act, and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act could compel AWS to transfer sensitive data of over 50 million European users to US authorities, undermining EU strategic sovereignty.
The question asks the European Commission whether it acknowledges the risks of storing EU citizens' private data on foreign-owned servers, whether it has investigated Wero's data storage arrangements or communicated with its leadership, and whether it will extend 'Buy European' enforcement mechanisms to private entities in critical sectors such as data privacy and tech sovereignty. The MEPs frame the issue as part of the EU's broader push for self-reliance, noting that Wero positions itself as a European alternative to foreign payment monopolies.
The Commission is expected to reply within approximately six weeks, and its answer will signal its stance on data sovereignty in critical digital infrastructure. The question targets the tension between fostering European tech champions and ensuring that those champions do not themselves depend on non-EU cloud providers subject to extraterritorial data access laws.