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Open Source in the EU Interoperability Strategy
by jeremybennett on Apr 1, 2010 |
jeremybennett
Posts: 815 Joined: May 29, 2008 Last seen: Jun 13, 2019 |
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The consultation period for the European Interoperability Strategy (EIS) closes on Thursday 6 April 2010. It has become clear that this affects users and developers of open source code very directly. Hence the reason for this post to OpenCores. Clearly the most effective interoperability depends on open standards, and they in turn are best developed using an open source approach. The EU recognized this in its European Interoperability Framework (EIF) of 2004, which (under mandate from the Heads of State no less) included an explicit commitment to open standards and open source. However the new EIS has virtually no mention of openness, despite apparently being the realization of the EIF. The reason has become clear, with a leak of a draft new EIF. Under pressure from closed source corporations, the defintion of Open Source has been reworded to include closed source: "There are varying degrees of openness. Specifications, software and software development methods that promote collaboration and the results of which can freely be accessed, reused and shared are considered open and lie at one end of the spectrum while non-documented, proprietary specifications, proprietary software and the reluctance or resistance to reuse solutions, i.e. the "not invented here" syndrome, lie at the other end. The spectrum of approaches that lies between these two extremes can be called the openness continuum.” This is about as meaningful as saying "dry" is one end of a spectrum that includes "wet". Furthemore, EU institutions are now left to decide where on this spectrum they wish to be. The commitment to using open source is gone completely. Glyn Moody has an excellent article in Computer Weekly giving more background on this. I have made my own submission to the public consultation, and urge others to do so before next Thursday at ec.europa.eu/yourvoice/ipm/forms/dispatch?form=EIS2a. I have also written to the four EU commissioners concerned with digital strategy for Europe urging them not to drop the commitment to open standards and open source made in 2004. My letter is open and can be viewed here. I encourage other OpenCores readers to make their views known in the same way. Jeremy
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