Summary The EuroCloud Platform would be a digital infrastructure that the European Commission is required to set up for the EuroCloud Federation, the EU's proposed network for sharing public-sector cloud and data-centre capacity. As set out in Article 34(3) of the proposed EU Cloud and AI Development Act (CADA), the platform would provide "at least" two things: a catalogue of available public-sector data-centre and cloud computing services, and a service platform for the exchange and orchestration of computing, storage and network resources. The first answers "what capacity exists?"; the second helps members actually use it. Because CADA is a proposal and not yet in force, all of this describes what would happen if the text is adopted as drafted.

Detail

The EuroCloud Platform is the technical heart of the EuroCloud Federation, the voluntary arrangement through which Union entities and public sector bodies could share data-centre and cloud capacity with one another. Under the CADA proposal, joining the Federation is voluntary: Article 34(1) provides for voluntary participation by Union entities and public sector bodies, who would request to join by addressing the Commission. The platform is what would make that sharing workable in practice.

Legal basis: a two-part platform

The platform is mandated by Article 34(3), which provides that "The Commission shall establish a platform for the EuroCloud Federation providing at least: (a) a catalogue providing information on available public sector data centre services and cloud computing services; (b) a service platform for the exchange and orchestration of computing, storage and network resources and services."

Two features of this wording matter. First, the word "at least" signals a floor, not a ceiling: the catalogue and the service platform are the minimum the Commission would have to deliver, and the platform could do more. Second, the two components map onto two distinct problems. The catalogue addresses visibility — knowing what capacity exists across the Union. The service platform addresses execution — actually moving and coordinating the underlying resources.

The catalogue component

The catalogue is described in Article 34(3)(a) as providing "information on available public sector data centre services and cloud computing services." In plain terms, it would function as a shared directory in which member bodies can see what data-centre and cloud services other members are offering. This directly tackles the fragmentation problem: across the Union, capacity can sit underused in one administration while another struggles to find suitable resources. A common catalogue is the prerequisite for any matching to happen.

The service platform component

Article 34(3)(b) requires "a service platform for the exchange and orchestration of computing, storage and network resources and services." This goes beyond a listing. The source text does not define "orchestration," so the following is offered as plain-English interpretation rather than as a quotation from CADA: in cloud computing, orchestration generally means the automated configuration, coordination and management of computing resources — the tooling that allocates, connects and manages compute, storage and network resources across systems. Read that way, Article 34(3)(b) points to a layer that would help members not just find capacity but actually exchange and coordinate it across different infrastructures, rather than handling each arrangement manually.

How sharing flows through the platform is set by other provisions. Article 34(2) provides that the platform facilitates sharing under the conditions set out in Articles 35 and 36. So the platform is the conduit; Articles 35 and 36 supply the rules and the funding.

Conditions on the entity that shares (Article 35)

The platform is not an open marketplace, and not every body can simply list resources. Under Article 35(1), a sharing entity must own the hardware and provide the service itself. Under Article 35(2), it must put in place "appropriate technical, operational and organisational measures to ensure an effective, secure and resilient provision of services." Under Article 35(3) it must demonstrate this to the Commission before any sharing, and under Article 35(4) the Commission allows the sharing. Article 35(6) allows the Commission to specify those measures through implementing acts.

What do those "appropriate measures" cover in practice? The Article itself uses only the general formulation quoted above. Recital 72 of the proposal gives more colour, indicating measures such as risk analysis, information-system security, access control, incident handling and business continuity. That illustrative list is drawn from the recital, not from the operative text of Article 35, and recitals aid interpretation rather than impose obligations directly.

Fees and funding (Articles 35 and 36)

A sharing entity may recover its costs. Article 35(5) provides that such a cost-recovery fee "shall not constitute a pecuniary interest within the meaning of Article 2 of Directive 2014/24/EU and Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509." This is a narrow, specific point about how the fee is characterised; it does not, in the operative text, declare the whole arrangement exempt from procurement law. The broader idea that such sharing should not fall under Union public procurement rules appears in Recital 73, and should be attributed there rather than to Article 35.

On financing the platform itself, Article 36(1) provides that members jointly finance it, and Article 36(2) provides that members reimburse within three years where costs have been pre-financed. Article 36(3) provides that fee revenues are internal assigned revenues, assigned to cover the Commission's activities under the relevant Chapter, "including assessing request to join the EuroCloud Federation and the establishment of the platform referred to in Article 34(3)," with any remainder going to the general budget. In short, the platform would be funded largely by those who use it.

Procedure

Finally, Article 34(4) provides that the Commission would specify the procedure for participation and a template for the request to join through implementing acts, adopted under the procedure in Article 46(2). The fine detail of how a body joins and lists capacity would therefore be filled in later, after the Regulation itself is adopted.

What this means for you

If you work in a public administration, the EuroCloud Platform — were it adopted as proposed — would be a single place to discover spare public-sector cloud and data-centre capacity (via the catalogue under Article 34(3)(a)) and a way to exchange and coordinate it (via the service platform under Article 34(3)(b)). Participation would be voluntary (Article 34(1)), so it is an option to weigh, not an obligation.

If your body might offer capacity, note the gate in Article 35: you would need to own the hardware, provide the service yourself, put appropriate security measures in place, and demonstrate this to the Commission before sharing. Any fee you charge would be for cost recovery, with a specific carve-out for how it is characterised under Article 35(5).

If your body might use capacity, the practical questions are which services appear in the catalogue and what the implementing acts under Article 34(4) require to join. Those details are not yet settled.

Common misconceptions

Misconception 1: The platform is just a directory. Article 34(3) requires both a catalogue and a separate "service platform for the exchange and orchestration" of resources. The exchange-and-orchestration layer is a distinct, mandated component.

Misconception 2: Any public body can immediately list capacity. Article 35 requires the sharing entity to own the hardware and provide the service, to have appropriate measures in place, to demonstrate this to the Commission first, and to have the Commission allow the sharing.

Misconception 3: Fees mean it is a commercial procurement contract. Article 35(5) provides only that the cost-recovery fee "shall not constitute a pecuniary interest" within the meaning of the cited instruments. The wider point that such sharing should not fall under Union procurement rules is found in Recital 73, not in Article 35.

Misconception 4: This is current law. CADA is a proposal, COM(2026) 502 final. Nothing here is in force, and the text could change before adoption.

Related

This is general information about a draft EU regulation, not legal advice.