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"Written Declaration" on Open Source in the EU
September 16, 2008
Posted by: Glyn Moody
I've written before how worthwhile it is contacting your MEPs about open source and related matters. Well, here's another opportunity. Some enlightened MEPs have crafted “Written Declaration 0046/2008” urging the European Union to step up its support of free software.
I've just emailed my representatives in the European Partliament using the fine WriteToThem.com, and urge you to do the same. Here's what I've sent; feel free to be inspired by it, but please don't cut and paste – the WriteToThem.com site will give you a rude message if you do....
I am writing to ask you to support Written Declaration 0046/2008, pursuant to Rule 116 of the Rules of Procedure, submitted by Jean Louis Cottigny, Pierre Pribetich, Michel Rocard, Bronisław Geremek and Daniel Cohn-Bendit.
This declaration:
“Calls on the European Union to take the necessary measures to help finance public research on open source software;
Calls for Parliament to switch its whole computer network to this type of software;
Instructs its President to forward this declaration, together with the names of the signatories, to the parliaments of the Member States, the Council and the Commission, so that they may join forces on this measure.”
As you know, open source is reshaping the entire computing landscape; well-known programs such as GNU/Linux, Firefox and OpenOffice.org are now widely adopted. Unlike proprietary programs, which originate almost exclusively from the US, open source software is produced around the world, with a particularly strong contribution from Europe. In this sense, open source can be thought of as Europe's indigenous software industry. Fostering it supports Europe's many fine programmers, and will stimulate employment across the European Union as well as reducing the outflow of monies.
Open source is freely available, which means that national and local governments are able to save money at a time when budgets are under increasing pressure. Moreover, members of the public can not only download such software, but are encouraged to copy it and share it with family, friends and colleagues – again, in contrast to the situation with proprietary software, which regards such generosity as copyright infringement.
This is particularly important for children and students, since it removes - at least in part - proprietary software's discrimination against those in lower-income groups who cannot afford the often considerable end-user costs of high-profit products such as Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office.
I apologise for the short deadline – the existence of this declaration has only come to my attention now. Nonetheless, I would urge you to support it, since it has the potential to bring benefits to millions across Europe at all levels.
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About the author
Glyn Moody Glyn Moody's look at all levels of the enterprise open source stack. The blog will look at the organisations that are embracing open source, old and new alike (start-ups welcome), and the communities of users and developers that have formed around them (or not, as the case may be).
Comments received
Dennis Byron said on Wednesday, 17 September 2008
This blogger has turned the typical European Union (EU)politicization of technology into some kind of anti-American crusade.
The problem with starting such an "us vs. them" war of course is that in fact the leading proprietary ERP software developer worldwide, the leading proprietary mid-size accounting software provider worldwide, the leading proprietary non-electronic design automation software provider worldwide, the leading proprietary insurance application provider worldwide, the leading proprietary business intelligence software provider worldwide and so forth are all based in the European Union (EU). In addition many proprietary software providers in up and coming categories such as BPM (Cordys), EAM (Mega), and so forth are also EU based.
Of course there is another major problem with this US-hating blogger's screed. Most open source software also comes from or is primarily supported by organizations based in the US, including the ones he uses as examples.
Glyn Moody said on Wednesday, 17 September 2008
Well, no.
“This blogger” is quoting a letter he wrote to the *EU*; as such, it frames it in terms that are designed to appeal to the *EU*. Any “US-hating” is purely in the eye of the beholder.
And pointing out that companies like SAP are European is disingenous: compared to Microsoft, IBM, Oracle and Sun they are relatively unimportant players.
As to most open source coming from or primarily supported by organisations based in the US, well, no again. It's significant that you have to add “or primarily supported by”: the Linux kernel began in Helsinki, OpenOffice has at its heart a German product, and many of the latest generation of open source products – MySQL, Jboss, Alfresco, Jaspersoft, Talend etc. – all began in Europe, even if some were later bought by US companies.
Cheradenine said on Thursday, 18 September 2008
@Glyn Moody
What is disingenuous (sp) is to attempt to deny Byron's point that considerable anti-american sentiment permeates this declaration, by then going on to highlight examples which bolster said.
It is immediately clear from the text of the letter, that a distinction is being made between the US and the EU and that this distinction is being used as a central part of the argument that the EU should foster and adopt open source software. The letter attempts to refer to open source as a construct which is primarily EU in character and origin and thereby tries to appeal on socio-political/nationalistic grounds to those it is written for. This is not in the eye of the beholder, as you said; it's in black and white in the original declaration.
You can't simultaneously claim that Byron is seeing things which aren't there and then go on to augment the very thing you deny him... it's specious and unfair to do so.
Glyn Moody said on Tuesday, 23 September 2008
No, free software has many historical associations with Europe, and a strong ethical one, since its underlying philosophy of sharing is close to the ideas behind European socialism. I was merely pointing out that it is in Europe's self-interest to nurture them.
This is precisely the same argument that US companies use all the time when urging the US Government to support domestic industries over foreign ones. It is also used to push for international legislation, where the interests of the US intellectual monopolies are routinely placed above any considerations of the negative knock-on effects on those outside the US, particularly in developing countries.