Palantir’s software is embedded in defence, intelligence, health and customs systems across Europe through contracts with public authorities. A cross-border investigation says the known value of European deals reaches about €264m, rising above €1.4bn when the UK is included.
A public-sector footprint built across borders
At least 11 European countries have contracts with Palantir, covering defence, intelligence, healthcare and customs. Eight countries — Spain, the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Ukraine — have agreements with defence ministries or armed forces. Palantir also supplies intelligence services in Denmark, France, the UK and Ukraine. The NATO purchase of its Maven Smart System in March 2025 extends that reach: countries taking part in allied operations can access the software even without holding a separate national contract. The platform is used to help member states’ weapons systems communicate during operations and has NATO’s highest security accreditation.
Spain used a direct award after a paid trial
Spain’s Ministry of Defence awarded Palantir a €16.5m contract in October 2023 without a public tender to manage databases for the Armed Forces Intelligence System. The award followed a €256,000 proof of concept agreed a year earlier, an advance test intended to establish whether the software met the need. Defence described the purpose as data fusion and analysis, while saying Palantir had no access to Spanish citizens’ data or to ministry information, data or servers. The exact military use remains undisclosed. Government sources told EL PAÍS that the contract will expire at the end of this year and will not be renewed; a Spanish company is expected to develop an alternative if the current government remains in office.
The procurement choice creates dependence concerns
The figures in the investigation give scale to the public spending involved. European countries and institutions with known contract values account for about €264m, while UK contracts add €1.17bn, taking the combined total above €1.4bn. Europol and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency spent €8.8m on Palantir contracts up to 2023. The procurement issue is not only the price of an initial award: data systems can become difficult to replace when they sit inside defence or public-service operations, connect with allied networks and require specialist expertise. More than 120 non-governmental organisations, unions and institutions from 30 European countries urged governments in September to end their links with the company, citing dependency and human-rights allegations. Palantir has denied those allegations, and they have not been proved in the source material.
Some authorities are testing alternatives
Several governments are reconsidering how long Palantir should remain in critical systems. In the Netherlands, Defence uses Gotham and Foundry in secret special-forces operations. After reporting that company employees could access classified data, the ministry barred foreign Palantir staff from its facilities. State secretary Derk Boswijk promised Parliament an alternative European system within a maximum of two years, although his department had also been testing Maven. In Denmark, the national police extended use of the software to Greenland, while the Danish Defence Intelligence Service later described the US as a threat. The army was then ordered to abandon talks to buy Maven and pursue a European alternative. These cases illustrate the difference between awarding a system and retaining the ability to change supplier.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| European countries with Palantir contracts | At least 11 |
| Known European contract value | About €264m |
| UK contract value | €1.17bn (992m pounds) |
| Combined value including the UK | More than €1.4bn |
| Spanish Defence contract | €16.5m, awarded in October 2023 without a public tender |
| Spanish proof of concept | €256,000, agreed a year earlier |
| Europol and EASA spending up to 2023 | €8.8m |
It is dangerous that precisely this software is present in the inner workings of our society and processes the data of millions of Europeans.
WHY IT MATTERS
A direct award can begin with a limited proof of concept but lead to a long-term role in sensitive public infrastructure. For contracting authorities and bidders, the transferable issue is whether the procurement preserves competition and a credible route to replacement once data, security accreditation and operational processes are tied to one supplier.
Reported from elpais.com, 2026-10-15. The Tender Wire is published by Otnox.
