Government turns to open source for digital independence

The Dutch central government, provinces, municipalities and educational institutions will increasingly use open-source code in their software. According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, this will give the government more control and reduce its dependence on software suppliers. The organisations have reached an agreement on this, the Ministry of Economic Affairs reports.

The move is part of a broader debate about the government's digital dependence. The choice to use open source therefore goes beyond how software is developed. The agreement is intended to give the government greater control over the digital infrastructure on which public services rely and make it less dependent on individual software suppliers.

Open-source code

With open-source software, the source code is publicly available. This allows organisations to modify and expand the software themselves or adapt it to work with other systems. The code can also be reused by multiple organisations.

State Secretary Willemijn Aerdts (Digital Economy and Sovereignty) emphasises that open source is not automatically the easiest or cheapest option. However, she says it can contribute to greater independence. Organisations can share solutions, develop new applications together and provide transparency into how their systems work.