Microsoft has been given the stamp of approval from Europe for data security. The Article 29 Working Party, which represents the 28 national data protection agencies across the European Union, has determined that Microsoft’s enterprise cloud contracts meet the standard for privacy protection set forth in Europe’s data protections regulations. […]
He went on to note that should the EU suspend the Safe Harbor Agreement with the US, as called for recently by the European Parliament, Microsoft enterprise customers’ use of cloud services on a worldwide basis won’t be interrupted or curtailed. And, even if the Safe Harbor Agreement remains in place, it covers only transfers from Europe to the US. The Microsoft approved contractual commitments, by contrast, enable transfers globally. […]
http://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/view/37967/microsoft-wins-eu-data-protection-approval-for-cloud