European governments shift to open-source to boost digital sovereignty

Governments across Europe are increasingly moving toward open-source software to bolster digital sovereignty and reduce reliance on major US technology providers, particularly Microsoft.

In the Netherlands, national, provincial, and municipal governments have signed the Open Source Program Office Agreement to promote digital autonomy. This initiative aims to allow authorities to customize digital systems and share solutions. This follows reports that Dutch municipalities spend approximately 185 million Euro annually on Microsoft, highlighting a significant dependency and challenges in tracking vendor spending.

The European Commission has also attempted to reduce technological dependence by introducing ‘Element Pro’, a UK-based communications app intended as a sovereign backup to Microsoft Teams. However, the move has faced criticism from EU officials regarding the app’s utility.

Broadly, the shift is driven by concerns over data security and the reach of the US CLOUD Act, which allows US law enforcement to access data stored abroad. Countries such as France, Germany, and Italy have already integrated open-source tools like Linux and LibreOffice into various public sectors to mitigate these risks.