Group
In the declaration, addressed to the French President and the German Chancellor, leading European open source companies position themselves unequivocally: Europe already has all the technological building blocks for its digital independence. What is missing is the political will to make consistent use of these resources. The central message is: digital sovereignty is not a distant vision, but can be realized immediately with existing expertise and proven solutions.
The path to digital autonomy
Europe must once again shape its digital infrastructure in a self-determined manner. This includes the independent development, sovereign operation and long-term maintenance of this infrastructure with European partners. Instead of being dependent on individual US providers, this approach relies on diversity, open standards and the cooperation of a strong European ecosystem. The good news is that mature open source solutions already exist for all levels of the digital infrastructure - from the basic infrastructure to applications for day-to-day business operations.
The solutions are there - Europe just needs to use them
The Heinlein Group is signing the letter together with its four brands Heinlein Support, mailbox, OpenTalk and OpenCloud. In order to personally represent the interests of the open source industry, its two CEOs Peer Heinlein and Jutta Horstmann will also be attending the digital summit in Berlin in person.
"Europe's digital sovereignty is not a utopia, but a concrete opportunity that we can seize today," says Peer Heinlein. „As the Heinlein Group, we have been living this vision for 30 years. The solutions are there, the expertise is available, the partners are ready. What we need now is the political will to consistently use and promote these resources."
Jutta Horstmann emphasizes: „We have proven that companies and public authorities can not only work independently, but also securely and efficiently with open source technologies. It is time for Europe to shape its own digital future: with open standards, transparent processes and solutions that respect our common values. The Franco-German summit offers the perfect opportunity to set this course."
A signal at the right time
The Declaration of Digital Independence comes at a critical time. Europe is redefining its position in the global technology landscape and must simultaneously strengthen its competitiveness, economic sovereignty and innovative power. At stake is nothing less than the question of who determines our data, our democratic processes, our critical infrastructure and ultimately our social future. By signing the „Declaration of Digital Independence", the Heinlein Group, together with the other signatories, is sending a clear signal to politicians: the European Open Source Alliance is ready. Now it is up to the political decision-makers to mobilize these resources for Europe's digital independence.
Open letter in wording
Declaration of Digital Independence: European Open Source industry on the occasion of the Franco-German EU digital sovereignty summit in Berlin, November 18, 2025
On the occasion of the Franco-German summit on EU digital sovereignty on 18 November 2025, the European Open Source industry associations and their members have come together to declare that digital independence is possible.
Digital Sovereignty for Europe means that we take back control over digital technology - from its design and development, to daily operation and long-term maintenance - creating resilience against economic pressure, attacks on democratic sovereignty, or even military aggression, and avoiding lock-ins to proprietary ecosystems.
Europe is an important market for international businesses, but more so, Europe has the capacity and talent in research and development, business, and finance to shape digital technology respecting our common values and contributing to welfare and prosperity.
In order to seize the opportunity and unlock the full potential for the European economy, the undersigned European Open Source industry associations and their member companies provide products, services and solutions that implement alternatives for the government stack and put an end to digital dependencies in the public and the private sector.
We offer the full stack of enterprise-grade solutions from network infrastructure, data centers and cloud infrastructure, operating systems, software development tools and build pipelines, to office desktop solutions, cooperation and communication apps, and much more.
We offer the expertise, services, and local competent partners to realise the digital sovereignty goals of the France, Germany, and the European Union.
On the occasion of the Franco-German summit on EU digital sovereignty, we are declaring that digital independence is possible, and call on the President of the French Republic, and the Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany to make use of the resources we, the industry enabling Open Source, provide to promote and realise digital sovereignty, and as an overall lever for European global competitiveness, economic sovereignty, and innovation.
Sign now!
You can now find the open letter on the dedicated website https://digitalindependence.eu, where you can download the full letter and add public co-signatures.
