# European processing and hosting "Fully European" is a claim that is easy to make and hard to keep. This page says exactly what happens in Europe today, what does not, and where we are heading. ## Today | Component | Where | | --- | --- | | Platform (app, gateway, agents) | Azure West Europe (the Netherlands) | | Storage of data, transcripts and audit | Azure West Europe (the Netherlands) | | Mistral models | European vendor | | GPT via Azure OpenAI | EU data residency available | | Gemini | EU residency available, but the newest models lag behind | | Claude via Azure AI Foundry | **No EU data zone yet** | The platform and everything it stores is therefore in the Netherlands. Where a model processes depends on the model. ## Enforcing EU-only per customer Because you choose per customer which models are allowed (see [model choice](https://plainwater.ai/en/wiki/modellen/modelkeuze)), a customer can enforce "European processing only". You then allow only models that process in the EU. An agent that tries another model anyway is refused at the gateway, and the request never reaches that vendor. :::warning Honest about Claude Claude via Foundry has no EU data zone at the moment. A customer that wants European processing only cannot use Claude in the platform until that changes. We do not promise that away. ::: ## What never goes to a model anyway Regardless of where a model processes, the [AI gateway](https://plainwater.ai/en/wiki/concepten/ai-poort) limits what goes to the model: - in the *metrics only* setting, no rows and no values; - for a customer with real data, names as pseudonyms; - in the *encrypted values* setting, every cell as a stable token. Even a model outside the EU then sees no customer values and no real table names. ## Roadmap: a European cloud We are moving hosting to a **European cloud provider** (StackIT or Hetzner). The goal: a European owner of the infrastructure, so that US legislation such as the CLOUD Act does not apply to the infrastructure. :::note Status This is a plan, not yet a fact. Once the move is complete, we will update this page with the date and the region. ::: What the move does not change: model choice stays per customer, and whoever allows Claude or GPT consciously chooses a US vendor. ## Questions customers ask **Is our data in the US?** No. Storage is in the Netherlands. What a model in the US can see depends on the models you allow and on your sources' settings. **Can we have different rules per source?** Yes. A source's setting is a ceiling. An HR source can be on *metrics only* while a source with product codes is *open*. **Can we use only Mistral?** Yes. Allow only Mistral in the ground rules. ## Example A municipality wants European processing only. The administrator allows only Mistral in the ground rules and sets the civil-affairs source to *metrics only*. A consultant opens a conversation and sees only Mistral in the model menu. Transcripts and audit are stored in the Netherlands. At the annual audit the administrator shows the ground-rules version and the model calls: every decision names the model, and no request went to another vendor. :::tip Read on - [Model choice](https://plainwater.ai/en/wiki/modellen/modelkeuze) - [Security guarantees](https://plainwater.ai/en/wiki/veiligheid/garanties) :::