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[-] Flaxseed@lemmy.world 7 points 11 hours ago

Wauw, that’s cheap! Great argument to start pumping that money into the European economy with the benefits it bring.

[-] Malica@lemmy.zip 6 points 11 hours ago

You can't put a price on freedom

[-] brainwashed@feddit.org 3 points 11 hours ago

Let’s find out.

[-] BigShammy80@feddit.org 25 points 22 hours ago

Nice... so we do something right when they "warn us". Let's keep on going.

[-] stinkytofuisgood@lemmy.ca 14 points 21 hours ago

Just as they warned Australia about removing algorithms from social media?

Their interests are quite clear to all but the most deluded.

[-] Kyrias@lemmy.ca 114 points 1 day ago

€115B into the European economy? Sounds great.

[-] UID_Zero@infosec.pub 56 points 1 day ago

Plus the non-monitary benefits longer-term...seems like a huge win.

[-] Foni@piefed.zip 57 points 1 day ago

A clearly impartial and unbiased opinion. I believe the EU should give me a ton of dollars or its economy will collapse. I hope this well-argued opinion gets all the media coverage.

[-] MushuChupacabra@piefed.world 53 points 1 day ago
[-] Jiral@lemmy.world 27 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

And not ditching them costs us our freedom and future. Also, authorities in the EU and member states are spending billions on licenses and support, going to those US tech giants, every single year. And just for context, The EU27 spent 418B EUR on defense in 2025 alone. On top of that, that money would stay in Europe instead of being lost to the US.

Given that not even the US tech lobby couldn't inflate that number to more than 115B EUR, makes it even financially a very realistic endeavor. Thanks tech oligarchs for confirming it.

[-] SeductiveTortoise@piefed.social 23 points 1 day ago

Yeah, so how much would it cost to keep you? A lot more? Thought so.

[-] subOrange@lemmy.world 42 points 1 day ago

Money not spend and value created? Win win scenario, just for a little hiccup during the transition…

[-] UnfortunateShort@lemmy.world 31 points 1 day ago

115B one-time payment is not even that much for the entire EU lol

[-] nightwatch_admin@lemmy.world 12 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Uhh that’s like ~~€3~~ €300 pp right? Still sounds like an excellent deal to me!

[-] tardigrade@scribe.disroot.org 10 points 1 day ago

Yes, but the hiccup may not even be so great, at least not monetarily, because the money is spent in Europe ...

[-] FrogCat@piefed.social 16 points 1 day ago
[-] SquareScarletCougar@lemmy.world 2 points 21 hours ago

Here I go again watching the Gamegrumps episode with that reference for the 100000th time 😂 https://youtu.be/VZKUzr78gs8?is=yql2uv_BIeb7T3_1

[-] Anonymaus@feddit.org 22 points 1 day ago

Big headline, but check the fine print: most of that €115B assumes the EU will do something it hasn't actually proposed — extending the rules to private companies. And the study was paid for by the very US tech giants who'd lose business if Europe buys less American cloud. They only counted the costs of switching, never the benefits. Take it with a grain of salt.

[-] floofloof@lemmy.ca 29 points 1 day ago

Sounds like a very reasonable price for the benefits it would bring.

[-] eicker@lemmy.world 24 points 1 day ago

How thoughtful of the companies profiting from Europe’s dependence to commission a study explaining why independence is too expensive. That’s not an economic forecast: it’s a ransom note with footnotes. Funny how €115 billion in supposed costs is terrifying, but decades of vendor lock in, surveillance, and lost sovereignty are apparently free. 🙈

[-] metermatic26@lemmy.world 21 points 1 day ago

The US has sided with Russia. Dependence now carries existential risks for the EU, so the costs hardly matter.

Instead, lets try and imagine how much this emerging conflict between Europe and the US has already cost Silicon Valley in terms of lost revenue.

Europe isn’t screwing the tech bro’s, they screwed themselves.

[-] Trebuchet@europe.pub 22 points 1 day ago

And this €115bn isn't over a one year period, but over an extended length of time (6-10 years). Honestly, the EU would be nuts not to introduce sovereignty requirements.

[-] alexquiniou@lemmy.zip 8 points 1 day ago

It could cost 115B for them ! 😎

[-] lithiumground@lemmy.world 19 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Long term independence more important than short term money !

[-] wojtek@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago

I hear BigTech screeching so it MUST be the best way forward... reinvent those 115B € in the EU!

[-] j5y7@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 day ago

Seems more like an investment than a loss.

[-] ZkhqrD5o@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago

I already want technological sovereignty, you don't have to sell it to me. €115 billion is nothing for the entire EU. Plus it would be money spent on European products instead.

[-] betanumerus@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Unreliability is worthless.

[-] kablez@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago

Don't we have AI that can reverse engineer just about anything... Be a real shame if governments just started replacing all these proprietary dependencies with their own solutions...

[-] mlcgdrhu@sopuli.xyz 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Hey Claude can you make some Azure/AWS-like cloud services to run on thin air please. Make it look cool and don't use any proprietary dependencies.

[-] Ooops@feddit.org 5 points 1 day ago

You forgot the important "Don't make any mistakes"...

[-] Jiral@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

"Don't halucinate"

[-] Photonic@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago

That sounds like a bargain for sovereignty

[-] Jax@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 day ago

Seems like a small number in this context tbh - if it were trillions that would be one thing, but 115 billion seems doable. Hard, but doable.

[-] AnnieByniaeth@feddit.uk 6 points 1 day ago

Even if that figure were accurate (which, as others have already pointed out, is unlikely) there is a finite payback period. And that's not even taking into consideration the advantages of digital independence.

[-] GMac@feddit.org 7 points 1 day ago

How long would it take Europe to save €115B in microslop ransom.. sorry i mean microsoft subscription charges?

[-] theoretiker@feddit.org 2 points 22 hours ago

So for Germany (only the federal government, states would be in addition to that) license fees are currently about 500 million € a year, only for microsoft licenses.

For the federal states i only know of schleswig-holstein who saved on 16 million license fees by switching to OSS.

So just by these numbers (no guarantees, i am definitely missing something) it might take a while for europe. Still would be nice if some orange couldn't turn off our government by pressing a button.

[-] GMac@feddit.org 2 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago)

Costs are probably negotiated but per 1,000 employees, most businesses will be paying somewhere between £500,000 and £1,500,000 each year just for Microsoft 365. So I'd estimate the UK civil service at a similar sum £450-500m per year for desktop services. Thats before any Azure or AWS costs

For 27 EU member states, an assumption of €10B / year leaving the EU and going into the us tech giant economy doesnt seem crazy.

So the scare tactic €115b is over 5-6 years. While it would take 10-12 years to save that from fees paid by the central government services alone. Thats a 50% offset immediately on top of the advantages of keeping those vast sums within the EU economic zone. I reckon local authorities and other public services across the wider public sector could offset the other 50%

[-] theoretiker@feddit.org 2 points 13 hours ago

That is a much more detailed view. Thank you.

[-] boonhet@lemmy.zip 1 points 22 hours ago

About tree fiddy

Minutes

[-] woelkchen@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

So thoughtful of them

[-] susieq0044@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 day ago

When the dogs start howling, you know you are doing something right.

[-] ennof@feddit.org 1 points 1 day ago

Sounds good

this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2026
129 points (97.1% liked)

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