The EU Wants Your Input on Open Source Policy—Here's Why It Matters

TL;DR

• The European Commission is drafting an open source strategy and wants developer feedback by February 3
• This isn't new regulation—it's about funding and strategic support for EU open source projects
• Nearly 25 million EU developers on GitHub contributed 155 million times to public projects last year
• If you maintain, contribute to, or build on open source in Europe, your perspective matters

The Big Picture

The EU is asking developers a question it should have asked years ago: what do you actually need to make open source sustainable?

The European Commission's "Towards European Open Digital Ecosystems" initiative is a rare chance to influence policy before it's written. This isn't about compliance or new laws. It's about funding mechanisms, procurement rules, and strategic priorities that could determine whether the next generation of critical open source infrastructure gets built in Europe or somewhere else.

GitHub's data tells a compelling story. The EU has nearly 25 million developers on the platform who made over 155 million contributions to public projects in the last year. That's not a small community—it's a massive pool of talent that currently lacks the structural support to turn great code into sustainable projects. The EU knows this. The question is whether they'll design policy that actually helps.

The consultation closes February 3 at midnight CET. Over 900 people have already responded. If you've ever maintained an open source project, struggled with funding, or wondered why European tech companies can't seem to scale the way their US counterparts do, this is your moment to weigh in.

What the EU Is Actually Proposing

The strategy focuses on three areas: funding, procurement, and technological sovereignty. The EU wants to support open source across AI, cloud computing, and cybersecurity—sectors where European companies are often playing catch-up.

Funding is the most straightforward piece. GitHub has previously advocated for a European Sovereign Tech Fund to maintain critical infrastructure like libraries and programming languages. This strategy could formalize that kind of investment. The idea is simple: if your project underpins critical systems, you shouldn't have to beg for donations or burn out maintaining it for free.

Procurement reform is trickier but potentially more impactful. Right now, EU public procurement heavily favors established vendors. Open source companies—especially startups—struggle to compete for government contracts even when their solutions are technically superior. The EU wants to change that, but the details matter. Will they create carve-outs for open source vendors? Require interoperability standards that favor open solutions? The specifics will determine whether this is real reform or just rhetoric.

Technological sovereignty is the political driver here. The EU watched the US dominate cloud infrastructure, saw China invest heavily in AI, and realized it's dependent on foreign tech stacks for critical systems. Open source is their hedge. If European developers control the foundational layers, the EU gains strategic independence. That's why they're willing to invest.

But there's a tension the Commission needs to navigate. Not every open source project should be commercialized. Some of the most critical infrastructure—think curl, OpenSSL, or core language runtimes—exists because individual maintainers care about the work, not because there's a business model. A good policy supports both commercial open source companies and non-commercial maintainers. A bad policy tries to force everything into a startup framework.

What This Changes For Developers

If the EU gets this right, the impact will be tangible. Imagine applying for a grant to maintain your library without navigating a bureaucratic maze designed for academic research. Imagine public sector contracts that don't automatically disqualify you because you're not a multinational vendor. Imagine access to growth capital that doesn't require you to relocate to Silicon Valley.

The EU's developer base is already massive. GitHub's Innovation Graph data shows that European developers are highly active contributors to global open source projects. The problem isn't talent—it's infrastructure. European open source companies struggle to scale because venture capital is scarce, procurement is hostile, and there's no coordinated strategy to support critical projects.

This policy could change that. But only if the Commission hears from people who actually build and maintain open source software. The five topics they're asking about—strengths and weaknesses, added value, concrete actions, priority areas, and sector impact—are broad enough that almost any developer experience is relevant.

If you've ever dealt with burnout as a maintainer, that's feedback on sustainability. If you've tried to sell open source software to a government agency and hit a wall, that's feedback on procurement. If you think the EU should prioritize AI tooling over IoT frameworks, that's feedback on priority areas. The Commission is explicitly asking for the full spectrum of perspectives, from individual contributors to enterprise users.

How to Submit Feedback

The consultation is open until February 3, midnight CET. You can submit your response here. The form asks for input on the five topics listed above, but you don't need to answer every question. Focus on what you know.

GitHub has already submitted its response, which you can read in full on the Commission's site. Their position emphasizes funding for non-commercial maintainers, procurement reform, and support for open source business models. If you agree with that framing, say so. If you think they're missing something, say that too.

The Commission has received over 900 responses so far, which sounds like a lot until you remember there are 25 million EU developers on GitHub alone. The risk is that the loudest voices—typically large companies and industry groups—dominate the conversation while individual maintainers and small teams stay silent. Don't let that happen.

The Bottom Line

Submit feedback if you maintain open source projects in Europe, work for a company that depends on open source, or care about whether the EU can compete in AI and cloud infrastructure. Skip it if you're outside the EU and don't work on projects with European contributors or users.

The real opportunity here is procurement reform. If the EU makes it easier for open source companies to win government contracts, that's a structural advantage that compounds over time. The real risk is that the Commission designs a policy that only supports commercial open source, leaving volunteer maintainers with the same burnout and funding problems they have today. Your feedback determines which outcome we get.

Source: GitHub Blog