Europe’s digital sovereignty starts with open source

From dependency to digital sovereignty

EDRi, together with Access Now and Vrijschrift.org, submitted a response to the European Commission’s call for evidence on the EU’s new Open-Source Digital Ecosystems Strategy. In it, we make a simple but urgent point: using and supporting free and open source software (FOSS) is a strategic necessity if Europe is serious about digital sovereignty.

Today’s digital ecosystem is built on open source. From operating systems and web servers to mobile applications and cloud infrastructure, most modern software depends on code developed by open source communities. Yet despite this structural reliance, the economic value of the software market is captured largely by a small number of dominant tech corporations. These Big Tech companies build proprietary products and services on top of open infrastructure, consolidate market power, and extract recurring subscription revenues, while contributing only selectively to the commons they rely on.

This concentration of power is reinforced by massive public and private spending on proprietary, subscription-based services controlled by a handful of providers that are mostly based in the US – a now hostile country. These financial flows leave open alternatives underfunded and weaken Europe’s in-house technical expertise. Over time, this deepens structural dependency, exposes public administrations and everybody else to geopolitical blackmail and foreign legal regimes (including access to sensitive data), and increases the risk of unilateral service disruptions.

Public money should finance public code

A strategic shift toward digital sovereignty in public tech procurement requires rethinking how Europe invests public money in software.

Investing in and using free and open source software is beneficial for public administrations, as it offers flexibility and control. Authorities can commission improvements tailored to their needs, collaborate across borders, share development costs, and reuse solutions without artificial licensing constraints or vendor lock-in. Open source strengthens transparency: its source code is publicly available for anyone to inspect, which allows for thorough examination and identification of any flaws. Also, this openness supports auditability and reproducibility, as others can verify the methods and results, ensuring that findings can be replicated and built upon by the community. All of these are essential safeguards in an era of automated decision-making systems and AI-driven public services.

A strategic shift towards open source also means investing in Europe’s digital commons: shared digital infrastructure and open standards that anyone can use, study, improve and build upon. In return, each public contribution strengthens the entire ecosystem and multiplies in value with every reuse.

The EU has already taken important initial steps in this direction, showcasing the institutional recognition of the importance of the digital commons. However, these initiatives remain fragmented and insufficient compared to the scale of Europe’s technological dependency.

Strategic priorities for Europe’s digital infrastructure

Rather than chasing short-term technological hype cycles like blockchain, Web 4.0, or generative AI, Europe should prioritise strengthening the digital infrastructure that is already indispensable to its economy and democracy. This includes, among other things, investing in trusted and interoperable cloud infrastructure to reduce vendor lock-in; supporting open, federated social media ecosystems that function as democratic digital public spaces; fostering independent open source mobile operating systems to reduce dependency on entrenched duopolies; and strengthening public interest-based search indexing and browser engines to ensure pluralistic, secure and competitive access to information online.

Europe stands at a crossroads. Continuing on the current path means deepening structural dependencies and transferring public wealth to dominant global platforms and their billionaire owners. Choosing open source means investing in shared infrastructure that strengthens security through transparency, enhances democratic accountability, and reinforces Europe’s capacity for independent action.

If the Open-Source Digital Ecosystems Strategy is to deliver on its promises, open source must move from the margins to the centre of Europe’s digital policy.