A proof of concept distro for the EU public sector

Distro Walk – Policy Distros

Article from Issue 296/2025

Author(s): Bruce Byfield

Some distros are more political than technical. EU OS attempts to break free of Active Directory and Microsoft Windows and keep distro maintenance close to home.

Linux distributions are created for many reasons. Some are developed out of a preference for a particular application or desktop environment; others are created for specific tasks such music composition, graphic arts, education, or security and privacy. Still others are intended for Windows compatibility or aimed at beginners. Some are frankly experimental or designed for do-it-yourselfers.

The recent publicity about EU OS is a reminder of a more rarely seen distribution: what might be called the policy distro, whose goal is to standardize the IT structure of a government and its departments (Figure 1). The idea dates back to the earliest days of Linux, when free software was often touted as a means of bridging the digital divide between the technological democracies of Europe and North America and developing nations, but it has usually received spotty attention at best, partly because it is more of a political than technical concern, but mostly because the success of policy distros has often been limited.