18 MARKETWATCH Microsoft has made five new commitments to support digital resilience and the cloud ecosystem, protect data privacy, improve cybersecurity and strengthen economic competitiveness across Europe. “As a multinational company, we believe in transatlantic ties that promote mutual economic growth and prosperity,” said Brad Smith, vice chair and president at Microsoft. “We were pleased the Trump administration and the European Union (EU) 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.” The first commitment will see Microsoft expand its cloud and AI infrastructure in Europe to help every country fully leverage these technologies and boost economic competitiveness. These include a 40 per cent increase in European data centre capacity over the next two years and expanded operations across 16 countries. “AI and cloud data centres represent the next stage of industrialisation,” said Smith. “They are creating real-world capabilities to fuel business and manufacturing innovation, run national health systems, enable secure government services and support digital tools in education – all while keeping data and operations close to home, subject to European laws and regulations.” To ensure users have confidence in the digital infrastructure, Microsoft’s Microsoft backs Europe’s digital future Microsoft commits to building a broad AI and cloud ecosystem, upholding Europe’s digital resilience, protecting the privacy of European data and strengthening economic competitiveness across the continent Microsoft president Brad Smith (right) announcing the company’s five commitments on stage at an Atlantic Council Front Page event in Brussels, Belgium Photo: Atlantic Council
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQ1NTk=