Open Letter:
Europe’s
Digital Future

The EU Tech Sovereignty Package is a once-in-a-generation opportunity
to reclaim control over our digital foundations.

For too long, public sector procurement has defaulted to proprietary lock-in,
creating a weak sovereignty posture that hinders European resilience.

We are calling for a fundamental shift: the Open Source First principle.

Why Now?

Join this coalition of industry leaders in demanding that the upcoming EU Cloud and AI Development Act (CAIDA or CADA) includes a binding requirement to systematically assess sovereign, open source alternatives before considering proprietary options.

The EU Cloud and AI Development Act is the market signal we need to make these benefits realisable at scale.

Europe's industry is ready - we just need the policy environment to make it possible.

Strategic Resilience:: Transition from technical dependency to "pivotability" and "exit velocity" in an unstable geopolitical landscape.
Market Leadership:: Help create the definitive market signal that allows the European open source industry to scale.
Operational Transparency:: Mandate documented, auditable assessments to ensure public funds build transparent, maintainable infrastructure.

The Open Letter

"The public sector is the largest single driver of proprietary software lock-in in Europe - the source of our weak sovereignty posture."

The benefits of open source for digital sovereignty are well understood. By establishing an Open Source First requirement, you change the default from dependency to autonomy. This moment requires more than ambition; it requires a principle that protects our collective digital future.

View as a PDF Sign the letter.

Final Call for Signatures:

On the 27th of May, the European Commission is expected to present proposals in the EU Tech Sovereignty Package.

AN OPEN LETTER FROM EUROPE’S OPEN SOURCE INDUSTRY

TO: The European Commission

TO: All Members of the European Parliament

TO: All EU Governments

The EU Tech Sovereignty Package represents the most significant opportunity in a generation to anchor Europe's digital infrastructure in foundations that Europe can genuinely control. We are writing as the open source industry that builds, maintains and brings to market those foundations to say plainly: this moment requires more than ambition, it requires a principle.

That principle is Open Source First.

We ask that EU legislation establishes, as a binding requirement, that all public sector procurement of software and digital services must assess whether a qualified open source solution exists before a proprietary alternative is considered. That assessment must be documented and auditable.

The case for this intervention is straightforward. The public sector is the largest single driver of proprietary software lock-in in Europe – the source of our weak sovereignty posture. That dependency is not inevitable, it is the accumulated result of procurement decisions made without a systematic obligation to consider the alternative. An Open Source First requirement would change the default. Not by banning proprietary software, not by banning non-EU software, but by ensuring the Sovereign alternative is genuinely considered and the choice made transparently.

The benefits of open source for digital sovereignty are well understood. What is missing is the market signal that makes them realisable at scale. The EU Cloud and AI Development Act is that signal.

Europe's open source industry is ready. We are asking for the policy environment that makes it possible.

Respectfully,