Public Procurement Act: Europe needs control over its digital infrastructure
The process to update European procurement rules has started. With the proposal for the Public Procurement Act, it is now up to the EU’s co-legislators to address its shortcomings to ensure that Europe can control its digital infrastructure.
The European Commission has published its proposal for the Public Procurement Act, laying the groundwork for a reform of European procurement rules. Despite its broad scope – covering everything from furniture to cleaning services – this proposal explicitly recognises Free Software as a way to pursue innovation objectives.
However, the proposal does not recognise Free Software’s contribution beyond innovation objectives, including to resilience. This approach does not match the EU’s own sovereignty ambitions and does not sufficiently address vendor lock-in, limited interoperability, and a lack of control over public digital infrastructure.
The Public Procurement Act must turn Europe’s sovereignty ambitions into everyday procurement practice. The European Parliament and Council should therefore:
- make control over software the measure of technological sovereignty, ensured through the rights to use, study, share, and improve it.
- ensure that these rights guide all software procurement, beyond innovation projects.
It is in Europe’s interest to gain control over its digital infrastructure. In order to achieve this, public bodies need the ability to freely understand and modify the software they procure, to share it, and to choose who maintains it. These abilities are crucial for technological sovereignty as well as spending tax payers money efficiently. They matter whenever public bodies procure software, whether they are developing an innovative solution or buying an established product. Choosing a European supplier alone does not guarantee control.
The FSFE outlined its position in a statement available here (EN). More recently, Alexander Sander has spoken about his initial impressions of the proposal, next steps, and what it means for Free Software in the Software Freedom Podcast (EN).
As discussions advance in the European Parliament and Council, the FSFE will continue engaging with relevant stakeholders to ensure that the Public Procurement Act strengthens technological sovereignty through Free Software.
If you want to stay up-to-date on the latest developments, consider signing the “Public Money? Public Code!” open letter and subscribing to the FSFE newsletter. Through these channels, we will also share opportunities to contribute to this work.
Support our work
Preparing meetings, travelling to Brussels, and defending Software Freedom requires many resources. Please consider making a donation to the FSFE to enable us to continue defending Software Freedom across Europe, your support truly helps the FSFE’s work.