Dear Reader,

Open source software has always served as an equalizing force in the IT space. When one company or group gets too much power, the open source ecosystem offers a head start to others who wish to oppose that dominance. When Microsoft's monopoly looked unbreakable, IBM poured a billion US dollars into Linux to help bring it to an enterprise grade. When Google needed a way to compete with Blackberry and Windows Mobile, they purchased Android, which they built around the Linux kernel. Even Microsoft, which wasn't known for its love of open source back in the past, wasn't above integrating parts of the BSD network stack to get in the networking game with Novell.

The power of open source to resist monopolies is no accident – from the very beginning, the free software movement started as a reaction to corporate control. Now, in the current climate of adversarial trade policies, it seems the European Union is turning to open source again to counter the dependence on US-based software companies. The European Commission's recently released Technology Sovereignty Package [1] announces what they are calling the EU Open Source Strategy, a collection of objectives with the goal of "… promoting European open alternatives to non-EU proprietary solutions in critical domains." [2]

According to the European Commission, "The strategy sets out concrete actions to reinforce the broader open source ecosystem by supporting contributors, foundations, companies and users; enabling viable open source business models; promoting open source in procurement; and strengthening the role of open source in standardization and international cooperation."

Policies described in the document emphasize the need to consider open source first in procurement, as well as to invest in developing the tools necessary for an independent and open technological ecosystem. With the recent brinksmanship over tariffs, and what appears to be a rather pronounced shift in US trade policy, it isn't hard to imagine that European leaders are leery of being too dependent on large US software companies such as Microsoft, Apple, and Oracle. The new roadmap is a reminder for EU companies to look for solutions that won't result in lock-in.

Although this policy gives every indication of being a response to geopolitical concerns, I should add that it throws down a challenge to EU-based proprietary software companies, too. The policy specifically targets "non-EU proprietary solutions," which could theoretically give "EU proprietary solutions" a pass, but the overriding theme of the document is to promote openness, which will put EU-based proprietary vendors on notice to open up.

Will the European Commission's new guidelines succeed in unleashing a wave of useful open source development? That all depends on the level of resolve. Will the member countries take these objectives seriously and reinvent their approach to software development and acquisition? Keep in mind that proprietary companies like Microsoft are not going to give up without a fight – they probably already have lobbyists knocking on doors, and they have the deep pockets to afford lots of lobbyists. But the political winds right now really do point toward the EU pursuing greater independence in some fairly fundamental ways, and that can only be good for open source.

Joe Casad, Editor in Chief