The European Central Bank (ECB) has become a member of Gaia-X , a non-profit association advocating digital sovereignty for Europe. Gaia-X develops common standards for digital services like cloud services.

This allows data to be collected and shared in an environment of trust. This will support the digital transformation of the economy and is in line with the European Commission’s digital strategy. These common standards make services interoperable, meaning that users can combine different digital services in the way that meets their specific needs.

For example, they will be able to store their data with one service provider and analyse those data with the services offered by another. The common standards developed by Gaia-X will also enable users of digital services to retain control of their own data. Data owners can, for instance, ensure that their data are solely stored in Europe and subject to European law.

The Gaia-X Association for Data and Cloud AISBL is an international non-profit association with more than 350 members. The goal of Gaia-X is to create an open, transparent, and secure federated digital ecosystem, where data and services adhere to common standards and can be freely and securely built, collated, and shared. The European Central Bank in recent news In October 2022, the Governing Council of the ECB has decided to recalibrate the conditions of the third series of targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTRO III) as part of the monetary policy measures adopted to restore price stability over the medium term.

In view of the current inflationary developments and outlook, it is necessary to adapt certain parameters of TLTRO III to reinforce the transmission of the ECB’s policy rates to bank lending conditions so that TLTRO III contributes to the transmission of the monetary policy stance needed to ensure the timely return of inflation to the ECB’s 2% medium-term target, says the official press release. Earlier, in September 2022, the ECB and the US Federal Reserve have joined hands to increase the interest rate, in an attempt to stamp out record inflation. However, policy makers worry that the financial measure risks worsening the upcoming European recession and could put an overweight on both creditors and population.

More about Gaia-X In 2019, Germany has unveiled a cloud service dubbed Gaia-X to allow European companies to avoid storing data with US or Asian rivals such as Amazon or Alibaba. The infrastructure aims to ensure data sovereignty for Germany and Europe, as it enables the sharing of data on a broader and secure basis. Gaia-X is meant to serve as a link between several different cloud services by providing a joint standard to share data.

For instance, a European mobility startup could make use of information provided by transport authorities. Earlier in November 2022, Equinix has joined Gaia-X. The company says it will share its interconnection expertise with academics, government representatives, and digital service providers, in a push for European data sovereignty.

Equinix said it aims to further the project by sharing its expertise in delivering a global, federated network interconnection platform, based on neutral traffic exchange points. .