Recap of Linux Foundation Europe at EU Open Source Week 2026

EU Open Source Week 2026 once again brought Europe’s open source community together in Brussels. From 26 January to 1 February, developers, maintainers, policymakers, researchers, and organisations gathered for an intense week of technical exchange, policy discussion, and community collaboration, anchored around FOSDEM.

For Linux Foundation Europe, this was our most comprehensive participation to date, spanning policy, technical sessions, project showcases, and community events across the city.

More than a collection of adjacent events, EU Open Source Week has become a true ecosystem moment, one led by grassroots communities, where maintainers and volunteers set the pace and where policy and industry increasingly engage directly with open source communities.

Across devrooms, hallway conversations, and fringe meetups, a notable transition was visible: Europe’s open source community is moving from advocacy to execution. From digital sovereignty and regulatory readiness to hands-on engineering across cloud, embedded, energy, networking, and security, the week reflected a community confident in its role shaping Europe’s digital future.

Breakfast at the European Parliament

On 28 January, the OpenForum Europe (OFE) and MEP Michał Kobosko, co-hosted a breakfast discussion at the European Parliament focused on the proposal for a European Union Sovereign Tech Fund (EU-STF). The conversation brought together stakeholders to examine how Europe’s open source ecosystem can collectively address long-standing challenges around maintainer sustainability and funding for critical digital infrastructure.

Linux Foundation Europe was represented by Gabriele Columbro, General Manager of Linux Foundation Europe; Thierry Carrez, General Manager of the OpenInfra Foundation; Paula Grzegorzewska, Strategic Partnerships Senior Manager at Linux Foundation Europe; and Mirko Boehm, Senior Director for Community Development at Linux Foundation Europe.

The discussion marked an important step toward turning the EU-STF from concept into reality, highlighting the need for sustained investment in the open source projects that form the backbone of Europe’s digital future.

European Open Source Awards

On 29 January, the 2nd Annual European Open Source Awards were held in Brussels as part of EU Open Source Week, celebrating outstanding contributions to Europe’s open source software and hardware ecosystem. Led by the European Open Source Academy, the ceremony highlighted the growing recognition of open source as a cornerstone of Europe’s digital infrastructure, economic resilience, and digital sovereignty.

Linux Foundation Europe participated in the event and was represented by Gabriele Columbro, General Manager of Linux Foundation Europe; Thierry Carrez, General Manager of the OpenInfra Foundation; Paula Grzegorzewska, Strategic Partnerships Senior Manager and Mirko Boehm, Senior Director for Community Development.

The evening honoured leaders whose work has shaped the global open source ecosystem. Greg Kroah-Hartman of The Linux Foundation received the Prize for Excellence in Open Source for his lasting impact on the community. Frank Karlitschek of Nextcloud was recognised with a Special Recognition for Business and Impact. Jenny Molloy of the University of Cambridge and the Open Science Hardware Foundation received Special Recognition for Advocacy and Awareness. Matt Venn of Tiny Tapeout was honoured for Skills and Education, while Roberto Di Cosmo and Stefano Zacchiroli were recognised for Community Impact through their work with Software Heritage.

By recognising these often unseen contributors, the Awards reinforced the central role of open source communities in supporting Europe’s technological leadership and long-term digital sovereignty.

EU Open Source Policy Summit 2026

On 30 January, the EU Open Source Policy Summit 2026 by OpenForum Europe brought together public and private sector leaders for a full-day discussion on how open source plays a key role in Europe’s digital sovereignty across security, cloud, AI, standards, and industrial innovation. Linux Foundation Europe participated as a Gold Sponsor, reinforcing its commitment to advancing open, collaborative digital ecosystems in Europe.

Keynote: Gabriele Columbro (Linux Foundation Europe) - EU Open Source Policy Summit 2026

Gabriele Columbro, General Manager of Linux Foundation Europe, opened his keynote by reflecting on how quickly the landscape has changed in recent years. He pointed to rapid advances in AI and growing geopolitical tension as factors that have sharpened Europe’s focus on digital sovereignty. The discussion, he noted, has clearly moved on: the question is no longer whether open source matters, but how it can deliver growth and resilience at scale.

He said the false divide between open source and proprietary software has largely faded. Most modern software now relies heavily on open components and is brought to market by commercial companies. These companies contribute back because it reduces risk and strengthens their business. Work around initiatives such as the Cyber Resilience Act has also improved dialogue between open source communities and policymakers.

Gab framed Europe’s next challenge as one of execution. How can Europe reach technological scale quickly through open source? How can it influence the global commons instead of fragmenting efforts or rebuilding what already exists? He stressed that stronger industry engagement, enterprise demand, and investment in commercial open source are essential to avoid new vendor lock-ins.

He closed with a clear call to act collectively and upstream. In a world moving at the speed of AI, he said, open source remains Europe’s strongest path to long-term digital sovereignty.

Panel: Building Alternatives – Cloud & AI - EU Open Source Policy Summit 2026

Paula Grzegorzewska, Strategic Partnerships Senior Manager at Linux Foundation Europe, moderated the panel “Building Alternatives – Cloud & AI”, which examined what it will take to develop viable European cloud and AI alternatives to dominant platforms. Joined by Alexandra Geese (Member of the European Parliament, Greens/EFA), Thibaut Kleiner (Director, DG CONNECT, European Commission), Frank Karlitschek (CEO, Nextcloud), Ritesh Paiboina (CTO, Open Telekom Cloud, T-Systems International), and Frank Feldmann (Chief Strategy Officer, SUSE), the discussion focused on how open source can support European ecosystems across cloud and AI, and what is required to align regulation, procurement, and industrial policy while ensuring interoperability, trust, and strategic control in critical digital infrastructure.

Paula opened by asking what a positive, confident vision for Europe’s cloud and AI should look like in 10–15 years, and what kind of digital power Europe needs to regain and retain. Thibaut responded with a vision of Europe as an “AI continent,” shaping technology to make society more inclusive and to enhance capabilities rather than make people “slaves of technology.” Alexandra emphasized that turning shared ambitions into reality requires courage, and that sovereignty is not independence but the ability to meet partners “eye to eye.” Frank added that sovereignty should not mean building walls or cutting Europe off from the world, but being taken seriously and able to negotiate on equal footing.

A major theme was moving from ideas to execution. Panelists returned repeatedly to procurement and demand, including frustration that tenders can feel tailored, and the need for clearer pathways to “buying alternatives.” The discussion also explored what “fragmentation” means in practice. Panelists described challenges around interfaces, API standards, and security certification across member states, as well as the difficulty of navigating many parallel initiatives and acronyms. The session closed with practical messages, including the call to become an “active customer,” the need to involve integrators and consultants, the importance of skills and more universal certifications, and the role of openness to talent and immigration in Europe’s long-term capacity.

FOSDEM 2026

The week concluded with FOSDEM on 31 January and 1 February, Europe’s largest free open source developer gathering. Linux Foundation hosted and affiliated projects with stands included Dronecode Foundation and the Zephyr Project, RISC-V International, Xen Project, OpenTofu and OpenBao, the Cloud Native Computing Foundation together with the OpenInfra Foundation and the TODO Group, and Linux Foundation Europe alongside the Open Source Security Foundation. European-led initiatives such as NeoNephos, Carbyne Stack, PowSyBl, and OpenAgri also highlighted Europe’s growing leadership in open, sovereign technologies.

Accelerating the open source flywheel in Europe with private sector & VC funding

In the Funding the FOSS Ecosystem track, Gabriele Columbro of Linux Foundation Europe and Abel Samot of Red River West presented the session Accelerating the open source flywheel in Europe with private sector & VC funding. The session examined how enterprise contributions and venture capital, often underrepresented in European open source discussions, can significantly strengthen upstream projects and enable sustainable commercial ecosystems. Drawing on insights from the State of Commercial Open Source report and perspectives from Linux Foundation Europe and Commit, Europe’s first venture fund dedicated to commercial open source, the speakers highlighted the growing strategic and economic opportunity for Europe across sectors such as finance, energy, telecommunications, and agriculture. Watch the recording here.

Global collaboration and Europe's digital sovereignty goals: debate

Another key discussion, Global collaboration and Europe’s digital sovereignty goals, explored how Europe’s digital sovereignty debate is shifting from slogans to strategy. Rather than focusing on the origin or ownership of software, the panel framed sovereignty as a function of capability, participation, and influence within global open source ecosystems. The discussion brought together Gabriele Columbro of Linux Foundation Europe and FINOS, Vittorio Bertola of Open-Xchange, and Thierry Carrez of the OpenInfra Foundation, with moderation by Paula Grzegorzewska of Linux Foundation Europe. Panelists discussed how deeper engagement in global open source communities can reinforce, rather than dilute, Europe’s strategic autonomy, and what role foundations and companies play in balancing openness with industrial and policy goals. Watch the recording here.

Evening Reception

As part of the FOSDEM Fringe, Linux Foundation Europe hosted an evening reception on 31 January, bringing the community together for informal networking and collaboration. We thank our reception sponsors: Cloud Native Computing Foundation, OpenSSF, Linux Foundation Education, OpenInfra Foundation, Dronecode Foundation, and the Sovereign Tech Agency.

Linux Foundation Europe looks forward to continuing these discussions at upcoming events across Europe.

Continuing the Conversation Beyond Brussels

At its core, EU Open Source Week 2026 showed that Europe’s real strength in open source comes from its people, the maintainers who keep critical infrastructure running, the volunteers who organise devrooms and meetups, and the contributors who turn shared ideas into working code. From conversations at the European Parliament to hands-on sessions and hallway discussions at FOSDEM, the week made it clear that this community-driven foundation is what turns ambition into progress.

Across the week’s events, from the EU Open Source Policy Summit and the European Open Source Awards to community-led sessions and fringe gatherings, the same message kept coming up. Europe’s open source community is gaining momentum, with developers, policymakers, industry leaders, and researchers increasingly aligned around common challenges, from security and funding to sustainability and digital sovereignty. Crucially, these conversations are no longer theoretical: they are increasingly focused on execution, investment, and long-term ecosystem sustainability.

The conversation continues next at FOSS Backstage 2026 and Open Sovereign Cloud Day a co-located event at the KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe, where Linux Foundation Europe will further advance work on open infrastructure, cloud-native technologies, and sovereign digital systems, building on the momentum generated in Brussels.

Thank you to everyone who joined us during EU Open Source Week 2026, whether in a policy session, a devroom, a community meetup, or a hallway conversation. We look forward to continuing this work together as Europe’s open source ecosystem moves forward with clarity, purpose, and collaboration.