How can open source strengthen Europe’s digital sovereignty?

From energy and cloud to finance and mobility, real-world use cases show how open source drives competitiveness and resilience across sectors.

The path forward: stronger upstream contribution, support for commercial open source, and neutral governance.

Read more: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/16213-European-Open-Digital-Ecosystems/F33370575_en

Open source isn’t a hobby, it’s critical infrastructure for the digital economy.

86% of contributions now come from employed developers, & FOSS supports everything from finance to public services across Europe.
The governance model is just as important as the code: decentralized, merit-based, & community-driven.
The real challenge isn’t legitimacy, it’s whether policy frameworks understand and support how this ecosystem actually works. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6303038

Europe’s push for digital sovereignty & cyber resilience is accelerating and open source is central to it.

From energy and digital infrastructure to finance and mobility, it’s helping reduce vendor lock-in, improve transparency, and strengthen competitiveness.

Join the Open Source Policy & Ecosystem Forum (#OSPEForum) on 8 June in Brussels to be part of the discussion. https://events.linuxfoundation.org/open-source-policy-ecosystem-forum/

Open Source Summit North America 2026 is almost here, bringing the global open source community together in Minneapolis.

Join keynotes, technical sessions, and discussions across Linux, AI, security, cloud native, and more.

Register for $699 with code SPRING (save 40%+): https://events.linuxfoundation.org/open-source-summit-north-america/register/ #ossummit #opensource

Which session are you most looking forward to attending? 👀

Join us at Open Source Summit North America (May 18–20, Minneapolis) — bringing together the global open source community. From Kubernetes & AI to Zephyr, security, and embedded systems, the agenda is packed. Don’t miss highlights like the Linus Torvalds keynote, AI trust sessions, and more.

Register soon, check the schedule, and don’t miss it: https://events.linuxfoundation.org/open-source-summit-north-america/

What’s the ROI of contributing to #opensource?

Upstream contributors reduce costs, improve security response (66% faster), and increase development speed (~10%), with returns up to 6x. They also gain influence over project direction and attract top talent. Learn more: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/research/contribution-roi

Research from the Linux Foundation shows open source contributions can deliver up to 6x ROI.

Without OSS, 53% would turn to costly licenses and 51% would build from scratch, with critical infrastructure costing ~$3.5M on average.

Organizations investing upstream gain speed, security, and long-term efficiency, with 78% improving over time. https://www.linuxfoundation.org/research/contribution-roi
#opensource