2026 Paper on Progress and Trends
A fresh edition of the Paper on Progress and Trends in National Open Source Policies and Legal Frameworks has been released by the OSOR team, examining how open source software is spreading throughout the European Union. The analysis draws on eight newly refreshed country-level reports from OSOR, combined with recent investigations and material hosted on the OSOR platform, alongside research from academic publications, business analyses, and documents from EU institutions.
The findings reveal that open source has shifted from being merely a technical or financial consideration to functioning as a deliberate policy choice across member states. The emergence of digital sovereignty as Europe's main motivation for embracing open source has reshaped how governments and institutions approach the question. Over the past several years, geopolitical factors have come to dominate discussions about open source, moving beyond earlier arguments centered on technology or budget savings.
Supporting this transformation, institutional arrangements and regulatory systems have adapted accordingly. The period since the early 2020s has witnessed growing formalization of open source strategies within government. Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs) have become instrumental in developing the organizational capacity needed to accelerate adoption at regional and industry-specific levels. Simultaneously, more nations are establishing conditions through procurement frameworks that favor open source deployment in government operations.
Recognition of open source's value in the public sector extends beyond Europe's borders. The United Nations has begun incorporating open source into its digital strategy, while open source artificial intelligence has emerged as a fresh basis for international cooperation, helping nations maintain both competitive advantage and independence in an increasingly vital technology sector.
The report features a comparative examination of Ukraine and Switzerland, illustrating how these insights apply to countries outside the EU framework and operating under distinct governance arrangements.
