# Where do my AI agent's model calls go? Claude, OpenAI and Mistral EU options

> To the provider and endpoint you configure. Claude via Bedrock or Google Cloud, OpenAI or Azure OpenAI with EU residency, and Mistral's EU endpoint keep inference in Europe; the exact scope differs by route.

- Source: Sanbox knowledge base, by Sanlabs GmbH
- URL: https://sanbox.cloud/kb/eu/where-do-agent-model-calls-go/
- Type: explainer
- Section: EU, GDPR and data residency
- Language: en
- Published: 2026-11-06
- Updated: 2026-11-06
- German version: https://sanbox.cloud/de/kb/eu/wohin-gehen-die-modellaufrufe-meines-agenten.md

Your agent's model calls go to the model provider and endpoint you configure; where the agent's computer runs doesn't change that. To keep inference in Europe, pick a European route: Claude through Amazon Bedrock or Google Cloud, OpenAI or Azure OpenAI with EU data residency, or Mistral's EU endpoint. Check each route's exact scope, because some include countries outside the EU. Anthropic's data residency docs list only `global` and `us` for its own Claude API (checked 6 November 2026). On Sanbox, the Computer and the gateway that forwards its model calls run in EU data centres, and you choose the endpoint, including custom OpenAI-compatible ones.

## Why does the model endpoint matter most?

A model call carries whatever the agent has put in its context: your instructions, files it opened, command output, web pages, tickets. If any of that is personal data, the model provider processes it wherever its endpoint runs inference. Providers also separate where inference runs from where data is stored and where account metadata lives, so check all three.

## Which EU options exist?

| Route | Where inference runs | How you select it |
|---|---|---|
| Claude API (Anthropic) | `global` or `us` | Per request or as a workspace default |
| Claude in Amazon Bedrock | European AWS Regions; EU only if every destination Region is in the EU | An EU Region, with a regional endpoint or an `eu.` inference profile |
| Claude on Google Cloud's Agent Platform | EU member states | The `eu` multi-region endpoint |
| OpenAI API | EEA and Switzerland, for eligible customers | A Europe project and `eu.api.openai.com` |
| Azure OpenAI in Microsoft Foundry | EU Data Boundary, which can include EFTA countries; or one EU region | A Data Zone (EU) deployment, or Standard in an EU region |
| Mistral | EU and EFTA countries | The `api.eu.mistral.ai` endpoint |

This summarises what the providers publish and isn't legal advice: your data protection officer or counsel decides which route is acceptable for your data.

## Claude: use Bedrock or Google Cloud

- **Claude API.** `inference_geo` accepts `global` (the default, any geography) and `us`. Workspace geo, which sets where data is stored at rest, is `us` only. Claude Platform on AWS and Claude Models on Google Cloud (Anthropic managed) use the same values, and for Claude in Microsoft Foundry Anthropic lists a US Data Zone, not an EU one.
- **Amazon Bedrock.** Call Claude in an EU Region through a regional endpoint or an EU inference profile (model IDs with the `eu.` prefix). Global endpoints can route to any commercial Region. AWS's European Regions also include London (`eu-west-2`) and Zurich (`eu-central-2`), which are outside the EU, and AWS advises checking a profile's destination Regions with `GetInferenceProfile` instead of trusting the prefix. Regional endpoints cost 10% more.
- **Google Cloud's Agent Platform (formerly Vertex AI), Google managed.** Use the `eu` multi-region, `aiplatform.eu.rep.googleapis.com`. Google says it keeps ML processing in EU member states, excluding the UK and Switzerland; the `global` endpoint gives no residency guarantee. Single-region endpoints such as `europe-west1` serve only Claude Sonnet 4.6 and earlier. Multi-region and regional endpoints cost 10% more.

## OpenAI and Azure OpenAI

- **OpenAI API.** OpenAI offers regional storage and inference for Europe (EEA and Switzerland). Eligibility goes through OpenAI's sales team, and Europe requires Zero Data Retention, Modified Abuse Monitoring or another approved retention option. You pick the region when you create a project and send requests to `eu.api.openai.com`. Residency doesn't cover system data, some endpoints and features have exceptions, and models released on or after 5 March 2026 cost 10% more there.
- **Azure OpenAI in Microsoft Foundry.** The deployment type decides. Global types may process prompts in any Azure region. Data Zone (EU) types process them within the EU Data Boundary, which can include EFTA countries such as Norway and Switzerland, and Microsoft's docs say regions can be added to a zone. Standard deployments process within the resource's Azure geography. For all types, stored data stays in the designated geography.

## Mistral

Mistral's global endpoint, `api.mistral.ai`, is the default and makes no commitment on where inference runs. The EU endpoint, `api.eu.mistral.ai`, processes requests in EU and EFTA countries at 1.1 times list price. Account data, API keys, billing and usage metadata may still be handled elsewhere. Mistral stores data in the EU by default, but some features can temporarily transfer data to sub-processors outside the EU.

## Does "EU" mean the same thing everywhere?

No. Google's `eu` multi-region covers EU member states only. AWS's `eu-` Regions include London and Zurich. Azure's EU Data Boundary can include Norway and Switzerland, OpenAI's Europe region covers the EEA and Switzerland, and Mistral's EU endpoint covers EU and EFTA countries. Each also lists exceptions, such as system data or control-plane metadata. Your data protection officer decides whether the differences matter.

## How does Sanbox handle model calls?

A Sanbox Computer, its disk and the model gateway that forwards its calls run in EU data centres. Sanbox doesn't sell or host models: each template names a model provider connected with your organisation's own key, and the gateway forwards the agent's calls to it. Network access is deny-by-default, so apart from that provider a Computer reaches only the destinations in its network policy. After that, the endpoint you chose and your contract with that provider decide where a prompt goes.

To use an EU route with an OpenAI-compatible API, such as an Azure OpenAI Data Zone (EU) deployment, add it as a custom provider (owner or admin role):

```bash
printf '%s' "$AZURE_EU_KEY" | sanbox model-providers create --name azure-eu \
  --base-url https://<your-resource>.openai.azure.com/openai/v1 --api-key-stdin --json
sanbox model-providers models custom:azure-eu --json
sanbox templates create --name "EU agent" --model-provider custom:azure-eu --model <model-id> --json
```

The provider ID is `custom:<name>`. A route without an OpenAI-compatible API can sit behind a gateway you run in the EU; LiteLLM, for example, lists Bedrock, Vertex AI, Azure OpenAI and Mistral among its providers.

Agents you install yourself, such as Claude Code, call their own API hosts through the network policy instead. Claude Code's EU routes are Bedrock (`CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK=1` with an EU `AWS_REGION`) and Google Cloud (`CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX=1` with `CLOUD_ML_REGION=eu`). In EU Regions it prefers `eu.` inference profiles, but its docs call that a preference, not a guarantee, so pin `eu.` model IDs and check `/status`. Leave `api.anthropic.com` out of the network policy, so a session without these settings can't reach the Claude API. Do this on a template whose own model provider isn't Anthropic, because the provider connection itself may allow that host.

[Talk to us](mailto:sales@sanlabs.ai) about running your agents in the EU.

## When Sanbox is not the right fit

- **Prompts must not reach any model provider.** Sanbox doesn't host models and has no GPUs. Run the model yourself, for example on a vLLM server, and connect it as a custom endpoint. Sanbox can also run in your own cloud or on your own hardware: write to [sales@sanlabs.ai](mailto:sales@sanlabs.ai).
- **You want Sanbox to enforce a provider's region.** Sanbox forwards calls to the endpoint you configure. It doesn't check what your provider contract covers or which features your provider excludes from residency.

## Related

- [Do I need a DPA for AI agents?](https://sanbox.cloud/kb/eu/dpa-for-ai-agents/)
- [How do I use my own model endpoint (Azure OpenAI, vLLM, LiteLLM) with an agent computer?](https://sanbox.cloud/kb/build/bring-your-own-model-endpoint/)
- [How do I restrict which domains an AI agent can reach?](https://sanbox.cloud/kb/security/restrict-which-domains-an-agent-can-reach/)
- [Best EU-hosted sandboxes for AI agents in 2026](https://sanbox.cloud/compare/best-eu-hosted-sandboxes-for-ai-agents-2026/)
- [How do I run Claude Code on a cloud computer that keeps its files?](https://sanbox.cloud/kb/coding-agents/claude-code-on-a-cloud-computer-that-keeps-files/)

## Sources

- [Anthropic: Data residency](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/manage-claude/data-residency) (checked 2026-11-06)
- [Anthropic: Claude in Amazon Bedrock](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/claude-in-amazon-bedrock) (checked 2026-11-06)
- [AWS: Supported Regions and models for inference profiles](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/bedrock/latest/userguide/inference-profiles-support.html) (checked 2026-11-06)
- [Anthropic: Claude Models on Google Cloud (Google managed)](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/build-with-claude/claude-models-on-google-cloud/google-managed) (checked 2026-11-06)
- [Google Cloud: Data residency for Agent Platform](https://docs.cloud.google.com/gemini-enterprise-agent-platform/resources/data-residency) (checked 2026-11-06)
- [OpenAI: Data controls in the OpenAI platform](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/your-data), data residency section (checked 2026-11-06)
- [Microsoft Learn: Deployment types in Microsoft Foundry Models](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-foundry/foundry-models/concepts/deployment-types) (checked 2026-11-06)
- [Mistral: Regional inference](https://docs.mistral.ai/inference/regional-inference) (checked 2026-11-06)
- [Mistral Help Center: Where do you store my data?](https://help.mistral.ai/en/articles/347629-where-do-you-store-my-data-or-my-organization-s-data) (checked 2026-11-06)
- [Claude Code: Amazon Bedrock](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/amazon-bedrock) (checked 2026-11-06)
- [Claude Code: Google Cloud's Agent Platform](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/google-vertex-ai) (checked 2026-11-06)
- [LiteLLM: Providers](https://docs.litellm.ai/docs/providers) (checked 2026-11-06)

## Next step

Talk to us at sales@sanlabs.ai. Sanlabs' forward-deployed engineers build agent use cases with your team, with experience in aviation, pharmaceuticals, supply chain and logistics, and internal admin workflows. How we work: https://sanbox.cloud/kb/teams/forward-deployed-engineering.md

Existing customers can use Sanbox from a coding agent: install the CLI with `npm install -g @sanlabs/sanbox-cli@latest`, sign in with `sanbox login`, then run `sanbox skill` for the full agent guide.