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canopic jug [soylentnews.org] writes:

Netzpolitik has an English language article about the EU Commission’s vague plans for open source via its Open Stack programme [netzpolitik.org]. An internal paper calls on the Commission to support Free and Open Source Software in public administrations – and think about a new legal form. However, many questions remain open. The crux of the matter, which would be the role open protocols and open standards play in enabling vendor independence, remains unnamed in the article and is almost but not quite named in the acutal report [europa.eu] [warning for PDF].

The EU Commission has been funding open source projects for years. A programme called Next Generation Internet (NGI) is central to this by distributing money quickly and without red tape to promising projects – such as [netzpolitik.org] the decentralised microblogging service Mastodon, the video software PeerTube or Jitsi for videoconferencing.

But the Commission has been set on ending funding [netzpolitik.org] NGI for some time – despite prolonged criticism [netzpolitik.org]. Involved organisations have said that NGI works well and efficiently. Open source also plays a key role in protecting Europe from foreign actors – particularly important in the current geopolitical environment.

The Commission responded that the end of NGI is not meant to be the end of its open source funding. That is set to continue under a new name – initially the “Open Europe Stack”, now the “Open Internet Stack”. Important distinction: In spite of the new name, the programme is only indirectly related to the “EuroStack” [netzpolitik.org].

Some of these plans include the EU Commission leading by example through improving procurement and use of Free and Open Source Software in practice. They also include phasing out proprietary and/or overseas services in favor of more local services specifically those which are more amenable to using Free and Open Source Software.

Previously:
(2025) Euro Techies Call for Sovereign Fund to Escape US Dependency [soylentnews.org]
(2022) The EU's AI Act Could Have a Chilling Effect on Open Source Efforts, Experts Warn [soylentnews.org]
(2021) European Commission's Study on Open Source Software [soylentnews.org]
(2018) German Documentary on Relations Between Microsoft and Public Administration Now Available in English [soylentnews.org]
(2014) EU Spending €1M for Security Audit of Open Source [soylentnews.org]

Original Submission