European open source deserves the spotlight

Choosing local, open alternatives means you stay in control, not some global megacorp.

If digital sovereignty matters to you (and it should), now’s the time to support the ecosystem.

We’ve put together a list of EU-built tools that respect your rights and your data.

https://xwiki.com/en/Blog/European-alternatives-to-SaaS/

Should public funds create public code? Explore the push for #opensource #software in institutions. https://events.opensuse.org/ #FOSS #PublicCode

Podepsal jsem https://gov.cz/e-petice/1205-petice-za-povinne-zverejneni-zdrojovych-kodu-softwaru-pouzitych-ve-verejne-sprave

Učiňte také tak!

On 10 June, our CEO, @ldubost , will be in Warsaw at the APELL Conference to talk about building sustainable open source.

His talk?
“Sustainable Open Source: XWiki’s Paying Apps Model in Practice”

It’s time Europe supports models that keep open source strong and sovereign.
We’re excited to join the conversation at @apell If you want to say hi, register to participate: https://apell.info/apell-conference-2025-warsaw/

A simple principle:

If software is paid for with public money, it should be available to the public as Free Software.

This fosters transparency, collaboration, and efficiency.

Learn more: https://publiccode.eu/

We asked @BenCerveny from the
@publiccode What should the priorities for the digital commons. https://commons.ngi.eu/videos/

The digital commons are essential, yet remain underrepresented in traditional NGO frameworks.

So how do we build a resilient, participatory structure around these shared digital infrastructures?

We’d love to hear your thoughts.

#DigitalCommons #PublicCode #Governance

@martelinnovate @openfuture @OpenForumEurope @cnrs @linuxfoundation

May Newsletter!!

In April, our work on #DeviceNeutrality continued with news and meetings on DMA; we had a #PMPC meeting in Germany and talked about the German coalition agreement in one of our Podcast episodes; we also held our annual Legal & Licensing Workshop; and we published another article in our Legal Corner:

https://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-202505.en.html

𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲? 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐨𝐝𝐞!

Public administrations depend on digital tools. #FreeSoftware ensures they can be used, improved, and shared without restrictions.

https://publiccode.eu/

“Public Money? Public Code!” & FSFE Boooth at #LUGA

Join us tomorrow, Saturday 26 April at the Augsburger Linux-Infotag

@annabonnie will present the "Public Money? Public Code!" initiative. She will pay special attention and highlight how the purchase of #FreeSoftware by public bodies can have an impact on the surrounding ecosystem of the public institution.

https://fsfe.org/events/index.en.html#event-20250426-01

Public Money? Public Code!
Software funded by taxpayers should be Free Software! This ensures that everyone can use, study, share, and improve the tools that serve the public
https://publiccode.eu

I am very happy that we now have a release candidate of a new version of the Standard for Public Code after the transfer to community governance. Not many substantial changes in the standard itself, most are about the transfer and getting the workflows going in a new repository.
https://github.com/standard-for-public-code/standard-for-public-code/releases/tag/0.8.1-rc2
https://github.com/standard-for-public-code/standard-for-public-code/pull/1090
#PublicCode

Unser Fachtag "Public Money? Public Code! in der Praxis" ist Thema des heute erschienenen Newsletters "c't Open Source Spotlight".

Hier kann man sich für den Newsletter anmelden und nachlesen:
https://www.heise.de/newsletter/anmeldung.html?id=ct-opensource

Findest du auch, dass mit öffentlichem Geld finanzierte Software #FreieSoftware sein sollte? Dann unterzeichne jetzt unseren offenen Brief zu #PublicCode und erhalte Updates rund um unsere Initiative:
https://publiccode.eu

#FreeSoftware

Photo CC-BY-SA 4.0 @nicorikken / FSFE

Unser FSFE-Symposium „Public Money? Public Code! in der Praxis“ hat einmal mehr gezeigt: Digitale Souveränität gibt es nur mit Freier Software. Es ist an der Zeit, dass sich öffentliche Verwaltungen überall in Europa in Richtung #PublicCode auf den Weg machen!

https://fsfe.org/news/2025/news-20250409-01.html

Danke allen Teilnehmenden, v.a. unseren Speakerinnen von @zendis @do_foss @kgst @FITKOfoederal
@consuldemocracy @sovtechfund und @bkastl !

#FreeSoftware #OpenSource @fsfe
Fotos CC-BY-SA 4.0 @nicorikken / FSFE

Yesterday, our amazing symposium #PublicCode in Practice took place. It was inspiring to meet so many interesting people, who shared their knowledge and insights for a sustainable tomorrow and #digitalSovereignty.

Take a look at our report and see why #FreeSoftware is the best solution for a digital sovereign future https://fsfe.org/news/2025/news-20250409-01.html

Good start for the @fsfe 's symposium: 'Public Money? #PublicCode!' in Practice at the #unperfekthaus in Essen with the focus on the use of #FreeSoftware in municipalities.

What can best practices look like, and where are local administrations already leading the way today?

What opportunities for collaboration are opened up by Free Software?

What challenges arise when it comes to Free Software procurement?

What opportunities does the use of Free Software bring for public administrations?

Exciting morning today when starting working on the first release of the Standard for #PublicCode under community governance. The draft PR is available for public review until Friday, when we hopefully will release 0.8.1 https://github.com/standard-for-public-code/standard-for-public-code/pull/1090

This is a milestone for #PublicCode in Europe. The catalog will make it much easier to find and collaborate on relevant codebases. Let's stop the "not invented here" attitudes and reuse, and improve on, each other's efforts! https://ec.social-network.europa.eu/@EC_DIGIT/114256879326441528