European data centres face tighter regulation and limited space
The European data centre market is growing rapidly, even if that growth is not visible everywhere. At the end of 2025, operational capacity in the EMEA area exceeded 11.4 GW (up 19% year-on-year) and the total development pipeline grew by more than 25% to almost 15 GW. In practice, delivery is lagging behind, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s latest EMEA Data Centre Update.
The capacity actually under construction remains stuck at around 2.5 GW. Across Europe, the explanation is often power shortages, limited grid connections and lengthy permitting processes. These factors determine where new data centres can still get off the ground, and where investments are forced to shift to secondary markets and regional clusters.
The traditional core markets in the so-called FLAPD regions (Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin), supplemented by Milan, remain the largest hubs and together account for more than 45% of operational capacity in EMEA. As these most mature European core markets become increasingly saturated, new development is shifting more and more towards locations where large capacities can still be connected to the grid and where space and permits are less restrictive.
With 852 MW of operational capacity, Amsterdam remains one of Europe’s largest data centre hubs, but its room for growth is under pressure. The pipeline is lagging. A total of 182 MW is under construction and 250 MW is planned. As a result, Amsterdam’s growth reserve is significantly smaller than that of other FLAPD markets and the city has slipped back to fifth position among Europe’s top locations.
The limited pipeline is mainly the result of the 2019 data centre moratorium, tighter regulation and ongoing political pressure regarding energy use and land. Although the moratorium has now been replaced by a more restrictive policy framework, new large-scale development remains complex and time‑consuming. This is exactly the kind of friction we are seeing in several mature European hubs. At the same time, growth in the Netherlands has not come to a standstill: industry association DDA expects at least seven more hyperscale data centres to be built. Permits have already been granted for a large part of these, meaning that the projects can go ahead despite political opposition.
The analysis shows that the European battle for digital infrastructure is now being decided by the availability of power, grid connections and workable policy. The challenge lies in combining room for growth in digital infrastructure with spatial and energy choices, so that AI and cloud services remain available close to users and businesses in the future.
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