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Euro-Office 1.0: EU's Digital Sovereignty Savior?
11 Jun
Summary
- Euro-Office, an open-source office suite, reached its first stable release on June 9.
- It aims to bolster European digital sovereignty but faces criticism from LibreOffice.
- The suite requires integration with platforms like Nextcloud Hub for full functionality.
The first stable release of Euro-Office, an open-source office suite, became available on June 9. Positioned as a tool for European digital sovereignty, it's a browser-based alternative to services like Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.
Developed by a coalition of EU-based companies, Euro-Office functions as an integration component. It requires a platform like Nextcloud Hub for document editing, storage, and sharing. While the user interface aims for familiarity, some branding and menus are dated, reflecting its recent release.
The project, a fork of OnlyOffice's open-source core, aims to shift control of development and hosting to European entities. This move is intended to address concerns about geopolitical ties and foster trust among European governments.
However, Euro-Office faces criticism from The Document Foundation (TDF), which stewards LibreOffice. TDF disputes Euro-Office's claim of being the first European open-source suite and objects to its default use of Microsoft's OOXML formats over the Open Document Format (ODF), arguing this perpetuates Microsoft's document lock-in and undermines true digital independence.
