By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Twenty-three industry groups across Europe have urged EU tech chief Henna Virkkunnen to adopt a draft cybersecurity certification scheme (EUCS) for cloud services that was tweaked last year in favour of Amazon, Alphabet’s Google and Microsoft.

The call came amid signs that the European Commission may delay adopting or even scrap the proposal, which has gone through several changes since it was unveiled by EU cybersecurity agency ENISA in 2020.

The labelling scheme aims to help governments and companies pick a secure and trusted vendor for their cloud computing needs. The global cloud computing industry generates billions of euros in yearly revenue.

“We would like to respectfully urge your support for the swift adoption of the European Cybersecurity Certification Scheme for Cloud Services,” the groups said in a joint letter dated February 11 to Virkkunnen seen by Reuters.

They said the March 2024 draft “made good progress in balancing between robust security standards and the inclusive, open-market principles that are critical for the growth and resilience of Europe’s digital economy”.

The groups said the 2024 changes – which included scrapping provisions requiring U.S. tech giants to set up a joint venture or cooperate with an EU-based company to store customer data in the bloc in exchange for the highest level of the cybersecurity label – allow the scheme to focus on technical criteria rather than political ones.

Signatories to the letter include Allied for StartUps, the American Chamber of Commerce in Estonia, Finland, Italy, Romania and Spain, the Association of German Banks, Germany’s Association of the Internet Industry and Italian startup group InnovUp.

The Irish Business and Employers Confederation, Dutch group Nederland Digitaal and Portugal’s Association for the Promotion and Development of the Information Society also signed the letter.

The Commission confirmed receipt of the letter and said it would reply in due course.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)