Digital sovereignty 2025: between aspiration and reality

While the topic of digital sovereignty has been prominently placed at almost every conference and in all political announcements, the reality paints a sobering picture: framework agreements worth billions with American hyperscalers, the widespread lack of concrete open source strategies and a worrying tendency towards „sovereignty-washing" characterize the landscape.

The events of 2025 have dramatically underlined the urgency of the issue. The Trump administration's directive against European digital regulations such as the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act made it clear that digital dependencies harbor not only technical but also fundamental political risks. When the International Criminal Court was no longer able to use its Microsoft accounts due to American sanctions, it was fortunately possible to switch to open source alternatives such as openDesk. Nevertheless, this also showed how vulnerable our current IT infrastructure is.

Developments in the USA, where DOGE gained access to sensitive citizen data under Elon Musk, make it clear that digital sovereignty is no longer an abstract demand, but a question of fundamental rights and the ability of democratic institutions to act.

The EuroStack Report published in February by Professor Francesca Bria and other experts clearly showed the European dependencies along the entire technology stack and outlined concrete measures to restore the ability to act. However, instead of consistently implementing this analysis, politicians got lost in pure symbolism.

Although the coalition agreement between the CDU and SPD contained sensible formulations on the relevance of digital sovereignty and open source, it avoided measurable targets such as a concrete minimum open source share. The newly founded Ministry for Digital and State Modernization is still in the process of being established and offers neither clear sovereignty criteria nor a comprehensive open source strategy. Although the federal modernization agenda and the federal modernization agenda mention individual open source projects, these all date back to the previous legislative period.

The strategic weakening of the Center for Digital Sovereignty (ZenDiS) is particularly problematic. Following the dismissal of Jutta Horstmann as CEO in April, the institution operated for months without strategic leadership. The financial resources allocated to ZenDiS in the 2025 and 2026 budgets appear minimal compared to the billions spent in parallel on license payments to the US.

The EuroStack Industry Initiative developed the slogan „Buy European" into a catchy marketing promise, which, however, leads in the wrong direction. This focus on the geographical origin of providers promotes proprietary solutions developed in Europe and ignores the fundamental fact that open source is developed globally.

True digital sovereignty does not come from geographical preferences, but from open standards, transparent code and the ability to develop and control independently. Open source is the only way to meet these requirements and at the same time enable innovation through global collaboration.

In recent years, the Heinlein Group has proven that sovereign, secure and functional alternatives to proprietary solutions are not only possible, but already a reality. What is missing is the political will to implement them consistently. We urgently need:

Firstly, a binding open source strategy with measurable targets. A minimum open source share of 25 percent in the current legislative period with the goal of 100 percent in ten years is realistic and necessary. The German stack must be consistently open source, not just „prioritize" open source.

Secondly, a direct and structured dialog between government, administration and the open source industry. ZenDiS can play an important role as an enabler, while the Sovereign Tech Agency focuses on critical infrastructure software that is not supported by commercial providers. However, it is crucial that the government and administration involve the open source industry as a strategic partner on an equal footing and jointly develop implementable strategies.

Thirdly, a transparent sovereignty index that documents the current status of dependencies and is continuously updated. Clear key figures are the only way to measure progress and uncover sovereignty washing.

The third demand from our annual review is of existential importance: we need a digital administration that is „AfD-proof". Elections are due in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in 2026, in which the AfD is far ahead in the polls. Every digitization step must be taken under the condition that the data collected cannot be misused or improperly passed on by parties or authorities that are hostile to democracy. The decisions of several federal states in favor of Palantir and the revelation that a Palantir representative took part in consultations with the heads of government at the Digital Summit show how urgent this discussion is.

The year 2025 has shown us that good declarations of intent are not enough. Geopolitical developments, increasing security risks and democratic challenges make it clear that digital sovereignty is no longer an option, but a necessity. Digital sovereignty and Tech4Democracy are only possible with open source.

The Heinlein Group with Heinlein Support, mailbox, OpenTalk and OpenCloud are ready to drive this transformation forward together with the open source community, progressive companies and the administration. What we need now are political decision-makers who have the courage to move from talk to action and define binding criteria and measurable goals. The technology is available, the expertise is there. All that is missing is the political will and consistent funding for implementation.