The ODF Alliance Backs the EU's Call for Open Source

by Sam Dean - Jun. 12, 2008Comments (0)

As we reported this week, European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes recently took a very tough stance in calling for governments throughout Europe to use open source software and adopt open standards. Kroes is the European Union's top antitrust official, and her comments were largely interpreted as a jab at Microsoft. (The EU has recently levied the largest fines in its history against the Redmond giant.) Now, the ODF Alliance--the organization that backs Open Document Format--is applauding Kroes' comments. The ODF Alliance's position isn't exactly a surprise, but it's another step in what is becoming a coordinated march.

"The end is near for the era of public information being locked-in a closed format," said Marino Marcich, Managing Director of the ODF Alliance, in response to Kroes' comments made June 10th in a speech before OpenForum Europe. "The OpenDocument Format, with its status as the only internationally recognized open standard document format with a wide range of supporting applications, is a critical tool for governments to help end the era of lock-in."

In her speech, Kroes had said: "As purchasers, we need to be smart when we buy technology. We need to be aware of the long term costs of lock-in: you are often locked-in to subsequent generations of that technology," Kroes noted. "[The European Commission] must not rely on one vendor, it must not accept closed standards, and it must refuse to become locked into a particular technology – jeopardizing maintenance of full control over the information in its possession."

The ODF Alliance has been at the center of the long-standing effort to push Open Document Format (ODF) as a universal file format standard, and it has stood in strong opposition to formats such as OOXML which is a Microsoft format. (Microsoft has pledged to support ODF in the next version of Microsoft Office, although the ODF has also questioned how far that support will actually go.)

"The Alliance strongly concurs with Commissioner Kroes’ statement that 'no citizen or country should be forced or encouraged to choose a closed technology over an open one, through a government having made that choice first,'" Marcich continued. "Commissioner Kroes’ remarks validate the ODF Alliance mission and indicate the growing support for ODF and open standards that ensure interoperability and technological choice for the Commission and governments around the world."

Comments like these may seem trivial, but the EU's strong stance in favor of open source, decisions like those from Brazil, India, South Africa, and Venezuela to object to the ratification of OOXML as a standard and support for these efforts from the ODF Alliance are important steps in protecting open standards.

Take note: Microsoft appears to be affected enough by the EU's fines and strong stance that it has hired a new legal czar to focus on relationships with the EU. Slated to start July 1st, former General Electric executive John Vassallo will become Microsoft's vice president of EU affairs, and associate general counsel, as we reported earlier this week.