The situation
On 25 June 2026, the European Commission said it had informed Amazon and Microsoft of its preliminary view that AWS and Azure should be designated as gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act for cloud computing services. The Commission said AWS and Azure are the largest and second-largest cloud services in the EU respectively and that they function as important gateways between business users and their customers, even though they do not meet the DMA's standard quantitative thresholds.
This advanced market investigations that the Commission opened on 18 November 2025 into whether the two services should be designated. Amazon and Microsoft can now respond before any final decision. No final designation, remedies, penalties or cloud-specific compliance obligations had been verified as of 28 June 2026, but if the Commission ultimately designates the services, each would have six months to comply with DMA obligations. In parallel, the Commission is continuing a broader cloud-market inquiry into interoperability barriers, data-access restrictions, tying and bundling, financial conditions and contractual terms, with stakeholder roundtables scheduled for 1 July 2026 and a final report due by May 2027.
Why it matters
The case extended the DMA's reach toward foundational cloud infrastructure rather than only consumer-facing digital platforms. If the Commission finalises designation, the decision could reshape how two of the EU's biggest cloud providers handle access, interoperability and commercial practices for business users, including firms building and running AI workloads on their infrastructure.
The procedural shift also matters because the Commission is testing its ability to designate services below the DMA's automatic thresholds when it judges that gateway power still exists. That raises regulatory risk for large US technology providers operating critical digital infrastructure in Europe and could affect cloud contracting, switching conditions and platform dependencies across the region before the broader cloud inquiry concludes.
What changed
The story moved from an open investigation to a concrete preliminary Commission view that AWS and Azure should be designated as DMA gatekeepers. The case remained unresolved because no final designation had been issued as of 28 June 2026.
The assessment
Current judgement
The situation is worsening for Amazon and Microsoft from a regulatory standpoint because the Commission has crossed from inquiry into a stated preliminary designation view, but the operational impact remains prospective until a final decision is adopted.
Key assumption
The Commission's 25 June 2026 preliminary position remains the latest verified procedural step and has not been superseded by a final designation decision as of 28 June 2026.
What could challenge this assessment
The main uncertainty is procedural rather than factual: the companies can still respond, and the Commission has not yet imposed final designation or cloud-specific obligations in this case.
Impacts
Economic Pressure
The preliminary gatekeeper view raised regulatory pressure on AWS and Azure and increased the likelihood of future DMA compliance obligations that could alter cloud access, interoperability and commercial terms in the EU.
Trade & Supply Chains
The case increased uncertainty for European companies that depend on US cloud infrastructure, especially where switching conditions, bundled services or access to data affect software deployment and AI-related workloads.
Markets
The Commission's step added policy risk around two major cloud platforms, with the clearest exposure in large-cap technology and enterprise cloud businesses rather than immediate broad market disruption.
What to watch
- Does the Commission move from its 25 June 2026 preliminary view to a final DMA gatekeeper designation for AWS and Azure within the investigation timetable set from November 2025?
- Do the 1 July 2026 cloud roundtables and subsequent Commission process indicate that existing DMA rules are sufficient for interoperability, data access and contractual issues in cloud markets, or that further intervention is needed?
European Commission cloud roundtables
Scheduled:
These sessions are part of the parallel cloud-market inquiry examining interoperability, financial conditions and contractual terms, and could signal whether the Commission sees broader structural problems beyond the AWS and Azure designation cases.
Commission readouts, stakeholder submissions or procedural updates pointing to likely next steps in the wider cloud inquiry.
Evidence and uncertainty
Moderate confidence. Moderate confidence. 2 retained references from 2 reporting origins (European Commission, Reuters). Claim-level independent corroboration has not been established. Confidence concerns the evidence for the reported development, not the probability of an outlook.
Geographic context
- 01Brussels, Belgium (city)
- 02Seattle, US (city)
- 03Redmond, US (city)