OpenRail Association Calls for EU Sovereign Tech Fund
27 October 2025
Today, OpenRail Association joined dozens of leading organisations and open source project leaders in signing a Public Letter calling for the establishment of an EU Sovereign Tech Fund (EU-STF) to address the chronic under-investment in open source software maintenance that threatens Europe’s digital sovereignty, cybersecurity, and competitiveness.
Why This Matters
The call comes as Europe faces growing geopolitical competition in the digital landscape, with increasing questioning towards its technological dependencies and the vulnerability of its global software supply chains.
Much of Europe’s digital infrastructure is dependent on open source software. Yet chronic under-investment in maintaining and securing these shared resources has increased systemic exposure to risk, leaving governments, businesses, and citizens vulnerable to security threats, supply chain disruptions, and vendor lock-in. Left unattended, this could mean vulnerabilities in the open source infrastructure that powers everything from digital identity systems to energy grids, healthcare platforms, financial services, and mobility networks.
Open source software forms the invisible backbone of Europe’s digital economy and public institutions. Yet the maintenance and security of these foundational technologies remain severely underfunded, creating systemic risks that expose European governments, businesses, and citizens to security threats, supply chain vulnerabilities, and vendor lock-in.
In the railway sector, we consider open source to be an essential element of digitalisation. The OpenRail Association’s neutral platform for collaboration would not be possible without the digital infrastructure backbone provided by open source ecosystems. This is why the OpenRail Association supports the call for an EU Sovereign Tech Fund.
A Potential Solution
Now is the time to be proactive rather than reactive, to invest in the open digital infrastructure that powers European innovation and technological capabilities before the next crisis.
A new feasibility study published in July 2025 demonstrates that targeted public investment of at least €350 million over seven years could be a starting point for securing these critical foundations. While the mission-driven, public-led funding should be driven by the public sector, it must also marshal a whole-of-society approach, bringing to bear the collective efforts of EU Member States, industry, SMEs, and even civil society to bear on the challenge of sustaining and securing our open digital infrastructure.
Building on the proven success of Germany’s Sovereign Tech Agency, the proposed EU-STF would provide pan-European, mission-driven investment to secure, maintain, and strengthen open digital infrastructure. Without such investment, Europe risks the stagnation of its entire digital agenda, undermining the EU’s Digital Decade targets, the Cyber Resilience Act, and broader competitiveness goals.
The signatory organisations are calling on:
- EU Co-Legislators to make the EU-STF a priority in the 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF)
- Member States to commit to pooled financing that enables Europe to scale investment in open source maintenance beyond fragmented national efforts
The EU-STF represents an essential commitment to Europe’s autonomy and resilience, both of which are preconditions for its digital sovereignty, cybersecurity, and competitiveness. Through targeted investment in open source sustainability, Europe can prevent future crises, reduce strategic dependencies, and ensure its digital transformation reflects values of openness, collaboration, and shared prosperity.
Now is not the time to be complacent, it is the time to act.
➡️ Read the full public letter (PDF)
