Geo-Specific,
Governance & Risk Management
Europe Pursues Domestic and Open-Source Digital Solutions
In a significant shift, France has opted to replace U.S. videoconferencing services with a domestically developed alternative known as Visio. This decision marks a crucial step in the broader European initiative aimed at achieving technological sovereignty, a movement often catalyzed by the foreign and trade policies of the recent U.S. administration.
Visio, which should not be confused with Microsoft’s diagramming tool of the same name, was created by the French government’s Interministerial Directorate for Digital Affairs. Since its pilot launch a year ago, the platform has gathered around 40,000 users across 15 different ministries and public sector organizations, despite ongoing reliance on American services like Teams and Zoom. The plan is to have Visio fully integrated across all state operations by 2027, effectively making it the exclusive videoconferencing solution for approximately 200,000 government employees.
The French National Center for Scientific Research, which employs 34,000 individuals and collaborates with 120,000 researchers, is slated to transition to Visio in the first quarter of this year, along with several other high-profile public entities. As the government looks to support French tech firms, Dassault Systèmes subsidiary Outscale will provide hosting services, while startups like PyannoteAI and Kyutai will contribute to features such as speaker separation and real-time subtitling.
“We cannot risk exposing our scientific collaboration, sensitive data, and strategic innovations to non-European entities,” stated David Amiel, France’s minister-delegate for civil service and state reform. This comment underscores the urgency behind the drive for digital sovereignty, which serves not only as a protective measure but also as an opportunity to bolster local businesses.
The push towards open-source software forms a central theme in Europe’s sovereignty agenda. Open-source solutions offer critical advantages like reduced vendor lock-in and enhanced auditing capabilities while often proving to be more economical than proprietary systems. Visio exemplifies these benefits, being based on the open-source AI voice-and-video infrastructure software called LiveKit, which notably powers ChatGPT’s voice functionality.
Recent developments showcase a growing trend toward open-source adoption across Europe. Last June, France became the first government to endorse the United Nations’ Open-Source Principles. This was complemented by initiatives in other countries; for instance, the Danish government announced a transition from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice, while German regions like Schleswig-Holstein have successfully migrated away from proprietary services to open-source alternatives.
Efforts to enhance European tech sovereignty are being actively coordinated by the European Commission. In 2025, a consortium comprising France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy was established to collaboratively develop sovereign, open-source digital infrastructures. These initiatives aim to foster a more secure and independent technological landscape in Europe, reducing reliance on U.S. software and infrastructure.
Amid these shifts, recent consultations by the European Commission are focused on bolstering open-source project support to enhance the EU’s tech sovereignty and competitive edge. These developments come against a backdrop of increasing collaboration among member states to build a unified, secure digital ecosystem.
