EU Commission Preliminarily Names AWS and Azure as DMA Gatekeepers

The European Commission has notified Amazon and Microsoft that both their cloud platforms should be designated as gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act. The preliminary determination, published 25 June 2026, rests on a qualitative finding rather than the quantitative thresholds the DMA sets out: AWS, the largest cloud computing service in the EU, and Azure, the second-largest, both function as "an important gateway between businesses and their customers in the EU," even though neither clears the law's standard numeric benchmarks for designation.

That distinction is the signal worth paying attention to. The Commission is asserting that market centrality in critical infrastructure can trigger DMA gatekeeper status independent of the thresholds the regulation specifies. The supporting context it cites: over half of EU businesses currently rely on cloud services, with record investment in public cloud infrastructure ongoing.

Two senior officials framed the rationale differently but compatibly. Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, put it in competitive terms: "These services will only continue to grow in importance, which is why it essential that we ensure a well-functioning and competitive market." Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, drew a direct line to AI: "Cloud services have become a cornerstone of Europe's economy - and a prerequisite for AI."

What the announcement does not specify is what obligations a confirmed designation would actually impose, or on what timeline. Amazon and Microsoft have been given the opportunity to respond before any final decisions are made, meaning the preliminary position could shift materially before it becomes binding.

A preliminary notification is not a final order, and the gap between the two is where the substance gets negotiated. For practitioners tracking EU regulatory exposure or EU cloud and AI strategy, what the announcement leaves open is whether the Commission's qualitative gateway reasoning holds up once Amazon and Microsoft respond, and whether it gets extended to other infrastructure layers beyond these two platforms.