EU calls on open source to break way from US firms

"The European Commission has opened a feedback round for a new open-source strategy. Until February 3, stakeholders can have their say on the future of 'sustainable open digital ecosystems' in Europe. More than just a new round of plans, this process is intended to lead to a truly independent, open-source design of the European digital infrastructure. There was already talk of an 'open-source strategy' between 2020 and 2023, but this remained limited to 'principles' and an aspiration for a 'work culture' that supports open source."

"The new approach focuses on critical sectors such as cloud, AI, cybersecurity, and hardware. The Commission wants to find out where the growth of European open-source projects is being hampered. Much of this is already known: the investment climate in Europe is more limited than elsewhere, and the commercialization of software often takes place elsewhere. More painful is the fact that closed-source American software creates a lock-in but also relies in part on open-source components."

"The feedback period runs from January 6 to February 3, 2026. Stakeholders can share their views on five questions through an official consultation. These questions concern the strengths and weaknesses of the European open-source sector, the added value for public and private organizations, and concrete measures at the EU level. In our opinion, this shows how immature the plans are, but there has to be a start to action at some point; perhaps that is now the case."

The European Commission opened a feedback round from January 6 to February 3, 2026, soliciting stakeholder input for a new open-source strategy aimed at creating sustainable open digital ecosystems. The initiative targets critical sectors including cloud, AI, cybersecurity, and hardware, and seeks to identify obstacles to growth for European open-source projects. Known barriers include limited investment in Europe and relocation of software commercialization abroad. Closed-source American software creates lock-in while depending on open-source components. The consultation asks five questions on sector strengths, added value for organizations, and concrete EU-level measures. Previous EU investments include Next Generation Internet, FIWARE, and GenAI4EU.

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