[sergiosgc]

Portugal just opened the largest EU datacenter. Connectivity infrastructure is really good in the country (heh, international debt had to go somewhere...). The government couldn't care less about snooping, although they are US-friendly to a fault. However, court approval is required for snooping and courts are slow moving and processes are open: Service providers may inform the customer about the snooping order and may withhold data if the customer challenges the court order.

Plus, it's sunny!

[agilebyte]

Re your last point, is it not better if machines are in a colder climate?

[sergiosgc]

Yes. The datacenter is up in the mountains (Covilhã), where it's colder.