EU Open Source Strategy: What Developers Need to Know
The European Commission is preparing a new strategic framework for open source, and it is asking the developer community to weigh in before the plan is finalized. The initiative, titled “Towards European Open Digital Ecosystems,” is not a legislative proposal. Rather, it is a policy framework and funding roadmap aimed at helping European open source projects scale and compete globally, with a focus on critical sectors such as AI, cloud computing, and cybersecurity.
GitHub has long supported this direction. The company previously called for a European Sovereign Tech Fund to finance the maintenance of foundational open source infrastructure such as libraries and programming languages. This new Commission strategy represents an opportunity to formalize that concept at the EU policy level. GitHub has submitted its own response to the Commission, and new data from the GitHub Innovation Graph underscores the stakes. The EU is already a major hub for open source development: nearly 25 million EU-based developers on the platform generated over 155 million contributions to public repositories in the last year alone.
Balancing Commercial and Non-Commercial Support
The Commission’s stated goal is to help European companies turn open source projects into viable businesses. There are clear paths toward that objective. For instance, the EU could improve conditions for open source companies by lowering barriers to public procurement and ensuring access to growth capital for turning code into sustainable products. Policies that support business models and surrounding infrastructure could convert Europe’s developer talent into long-term economic leadership.
However, not every open source project is intended for commercialization—and that is not necessarily a failure. Many developers contribute for non-commercial reasons, and their work produces broadly beneficial components that need ongoing maintenance. A well-designed EU policy must therefore also address the sustainability of openly developed software that will never become a commercial product. Policy that only rewards marketable outcomes would miss a large and valuable portion of the ecosystem.
Five Questions the Commission Wants Answered
To capture the full range of experiences—from individual maintainers to startups, companies, and researchers—the Commission is collecting feedback through a “Call for Evidence.” More than 900 people have already responded. The consultation is organized around five specific topics:
- Strengths and weaknesses: What is currently blocking open source adoption and sustainable contributions in the EU?
- Added value: How does open source benefit both public and private sectors?
- Concrete actions: What specific steps should the EU take to support open source?
- Priority areas: Which technology fields (e.g., AI, IoT, or cloud) should receive the most attention?
- Sector impact: Which industries (e.g., automotive or manufacturing) could gain competitiveness and security advantages through open source?
How to Submit Your Feedback
The consultation is open until February 3, midnight CET. Submissions can be made through the European Commission’s “Have Your Say” portal. For developers or organizations with feedback for GitHub itself, the company’s Developer Policy team is also available for direct contact.
