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Hundreds Answer Europe's 'Public Call for Evidence' on an Open Digital Ecosystem Strategy (helpnetsecurity.com) 30

Posted by EditorDavid from the open-EU dept.
The European Commission "has opened a public call for evidence on European open digital ecosystems," writes Help Net Security, part of preparations for an upcoming Communication "that will examine the role of open source in EU's digital infrastructure." The consultation runs from January 6 to February 3, 2026. Submissions will be used to shape a Commission Communication addressed to the European Parliament, the Council, and other EU bodies, which is scheduled for publication in the first quarter of 2026... The call for evidence links Europe's reliance on digital technologies developed outside the EU to concerns over long term control of infrastructure and software supply chains... Open digital ecosystems are discussed in the context of technological sovereignty and the use of technologies that can be inspected, adapted, and shared.
Long-time Slashdot reader Elektroschock describes it as the European Commission "stepping up its efforts behind open-source software" Building on President von der Leyen's political guidelines, the initiative will review the Commission's 2020-2023 open-source approach and set out concrete actions to strengthen Europe's open-source ecosystem across key areas such as cloud, AI, cybersecurity and industrial technologies. The strategy will be presented alongside the upcoming Cloud and AI Development Act, forming a broader policy package aimed at reducing strategic dependencies and boosting Europe's digital resilience.
And "In just a few days, over 370 submissions have already been filed, indicating that the issue is touching a nerve across the EU," writes CyberNews.com: "Europe must regain control over its software supply chain to safeguard freedom, security, and innovation," suggests an individual from Slovakia. Similar perspectives appear to be widely shared among respondents...

The document doesn't mention US tech giants specifically, but rather aims to support tech sovereignty and seek "digital solutions that are valid alternatives to proprietary ones...."

"This is not a legislative initiative. The strategy will take the form of a Commission communication. The initiative will set out a general approach and will propose: actions relying on further commitments and an implementation process," the EC explains. Policymakers expect the strategy to help EU member states identify the necessary steps to support national open-source companies and communities.
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Hundreds Answer Europe's 'Public Call for Evidence' on an Open Digital Ecosystem Strategy More

Hundreds Answer Europe's 'Public Call for Evidence' on an Open Digital Ecosystem Strategy

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  • The real reason the EU is embracing open source is because it doesn't want to be dependent on U.S. tech firms (understandable). But the real reason that they are dependent is b/c they don't have a strong domestic tech industry themselves. Shifting to open source will not solve the underlying issue.

    • Governments in Europe are looking for alternatives for the same reason consumers are: Active hostility from Microsoft et al.

      I imagine they're better prepared to migrate or even create new alternatives than the unorganized consumers are.

      I'm halfway expecting the tech bros to manipulate Dear Leader into banning OSS. We joked and parodied here 20 years ago about the government decrying Communist open-sores, but it may not be a joke anymore.

    • The underlying issues to a lot of these things is just funding though, that's doing rather than saying. You want to write new software and transition systems you need developers and IT infrastructure people and they need to get paid.

      Europe has all the prerequisites, modern economies with well educated populace, definite the work and create opportunities for people to take up the task and do it.

    • Re:Everyone loves open source but ... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Computershack ( 1143409 ) on Sunday January 18, 2026 @07:01PM (#65933472)

      But the real reason that they are dependent is b/c they don't have a strong domestic tech industry themselves.

      Much ignorance? Typical American attitude. Remember that every CPU in every product in Apple's current range, iPads, iPhones, Apple TV, Macbooks are all now using CPUs that use ARM architecture that was developed in the UK. The target acquisition system in the F35 Stealth Fighter is European. EutelSat has OpenWeb, a Starlink equivalent. I can go on and on and on.

      • Not sure whether Brits would like ARM being described as "European", but I get your point. But if ARM/Arm is a legitimate piece of European tech, so would be RISC OS - the original OS that ran on Acorn and is now another (non-Unix) OS available for any Arm set-up, from Raspberry Pi's to single core servers. Maybe the EU could start funding ROOL? Or maybe adapt Andy Tanenbaum's Minix 3.2?

        But the EU could make use of FOSH and FOSS, such as RISC-V and whatever FOSS it likes - Linux, BSDs and so on. They

      • The problem isn't talent, it's that american big tech firms have been paying really well and are grabbing the top talent from across the world by paying top dollar.

        Though that may change this year.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by sabri ( 584428 )

        Much ignorance? Typical American attitude. Remember that every CPU in every product in Apple's current range, iPads, iPhones, Apple TV, Macbooks are all now using CPUs that use ARM architecture that was developed in the UK. The target acquisition system in the F35 Stealth Fighter is European. EutelSat has OpenWeb, a Starlink equivalent. I can go on and on and on.

        Oh come one.

        Apple can change that on a whim. But, let's say for argument's sake that all of a sudden, Apple would be somehow prohibited from using ARM. Do you have any idea what it will mean to the European economy if U.S. tech exports to the EU are stopped?

        Intel, AMD, Microsoft. Facebook, Instagram, Google, Youtube. All those companies that they EU likes to tax (oh, I'm sorry, "fine" for some sort of made up violation) but are highly dependent on.

        And let's not even try to get started on "but but but

        • > Do you have any idea what it will mean to the European economy if U.S. tech exports to the EU are stopped?

          Yes. About the same thing it would mean for US economy, since domestic market wouldn't be big enough for Apple to thrive.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by olau ( 314197 )

          Intel, AMD, Microsoft. Facebook, Instagram, Google, Youtube. /quote>

          Intel/AMD and Microsoft would be a problem as many businesses depend on those and migrating takes time. Especially Microsoft. Cloud companies are also critical, if you depend on proprietary services inside them.

          The issue in many cases here are not that there is no competition, it's that the US companies are dominant. Economy of scale is extremely important in R&D heavy businesses.

          Something like Facebook would be felt, yes, but people would move on, just like they moved on from Myspace.

        • Intel, AMD, Microsoft. Facebook, Google,

          [dupes removed].

          Well mr very smart guy did you also know that all of those except AMD have been on the receiving end of anti-trust action in the US. And AMD has never been fined by the EU.

          But yes you're so smart!

      • But the real reason that they are dependent is b/c they don't have a strong domestic tech industry themselves.

        Much ignorance? Typical American attitude. Remember that every CPU in every product in Apple's current range, iPads, iPhones, Apple TV, Macbooks are all now using CPUs that use ARM architecture that was developed in the UK. The target acquisition system in the F35 Stealth Fighter is European. EutelSat has OpenWeb, a Starlink equivalent. I can go on and on and on.

        Not to forget ASML and Zeiss

      • The real reason the EU is embracing open source is because it doesn't want to be dependent on U.S. tech firms... b/c they don't have a strong domestic tech industry themselves.

        Much ignorance? Typical American attitude. Remember that every CPU ... was developed in the UK.

        1. It gives me no pleasure to remind you the UK is not in the EU.
        2. Racist/nationalist attacks and generalizations do not help the conversation for any of us. Nor do they make you appear informed or thoughtful, even if you are. Au contraire.
        3. Cherry-picking European economic successes does not an economic analysis make. I don't believe anybody is suggesting that the EU does not have a tech industry, so of course you can point to some good things they've done. Doesn't counter GP's point.
        4. Stats are mor

    • Re:Everyone loves open source but ... (Score:4, Informative)

      by ffkom ( 3519199 ) on Sunday January 18, 2026 @08:31PM (#65933568)
      As others have already pointed out, there is plenty of "tech industry" in the EU, and there is not really anything fundamentally missing in terms of software if one stops using Microsoft or Apple. Way too often in the past, lazy/ignorant/bribed EU politicians could not be bothered to think outside of the Microsoft box, but now that an US president threatens to annex EU territory (Greenland) by military force, even the dumbest of those politicians may have noticed that depending on that kind of "friend" is a very bad idea.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by jezwel ( 2451108 )

        As others have already pointed out, there is plenty of "tech industry" in the EU, and there is not really anything fundamentally missing in terms of software if one stops using Microsoft or Apple.

        Amazon, Apple, Google, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle. AMD, Broadcom, Qualcom, Intel, NVIDIA. AutoDesk, Adobe, Salesforce, ServiceNow, to name a few. Finding replacement tech at short notice for whatever stack you use is going to cause a lot of disruption, and that's just the major players I can think of.

        ...way too often in the past, lazy/ignorant/bribed EU politicians could not be bothered to think outside of the Microsoft box, but now that an US president threatens to annex EU territory (Greenland) by military force, even the dumbest of those politicians may have noticed that depending on that kind of "friend" is a very bad idea.

        This worked right up until it didn't, because you need a bad faith actor that no longer cares about world stability to be in charge of a country where disrupting international trade can make a significant

    • You don't need a "tech industry", just tech compence. Many F/OSS projects originate in Europe an/or have Europeans at the helm - starting for instance with thw Linux kernel (Linus was a Finn when he came up with Linux, he moved to California only much later).

      Mplayer is Hungarian.

      Qt is finnish (sorts of).

      KDE is German.

      And beyond all of this, there's plenty of tech competence in Europe. IPv6 for instance may have been invented by Americans, but its spread to end customers was pioneered among others by Romania

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mspohr ( 589790 )

      Shifting to open source will solve the problems of buying proprietary software from US tech giants.
      Open source can do just about anything and the distributed development and support system is robust.
      Also, Tech Sovereignty is extremely important especially considering how unreliable the US has become.

  • Usenet (Score:3)

    by unixisc ( 2429386 ) on Sunday January 18, 2026 @05:21PM (#65933380)
    Why not just resurrect Usenet, and have individual newsgroups for every country, as well as the EU as a whole, on all subjects? Some may be free, some moderated. That way, they can draw away people from the Facebooks and Xwitters, and under GDRP rules, keep US or other non-European entities from accessing any data

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by davidwr ( 791652 )

      Why not just resurrect Usenet, and have individual newsgroup

      It would need to have 2025-level secutity to prevent abuse. It is sppace-inefficient. There are probably other reasons "why not."

  • Won't be a problem once Denmark buys California [cnn.com].

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