Sweden's Ministry of Finance has announced a new directive requiring all government agencies to adopt an "open by default" approach to software procurement. Under the new policy, agencies must prioritise open-source solutions when purchasing or developing new IT systems, and must provide written justification if they choose a proprietary alternative.
The mandate, which takes effect on July 1, 2026, applies to approximately 340 government agencies employing around 270,000 public servants. It covers all new software procurement, custom development projects, and major system upgrades.
What "Open by Default" Means in Practice
The Swedish directive establishes a clear hierarchy for software procurement decisions:
- First preference: Existing open-source solutions that meet requirements
- Second preference: Open-source solutions that can be adapted to meet requirements
- Third preference: Proprietary solutions with open data formats and APIs
- Last resort: Fully proprietary solutions (requires written justification)
The policy also requires that any software developed with public funds must be released as open source under an approved license, ensuring that Swedish taxpayers benefit from government technology investments.
Sweden's mandate aligns with the Free Software Foundation Europe's "Public Money, Public Code" campaign, which argues that software paid for by taxpayers should be available to all. The campaign has gained support from over 200 organisations and multiple EU governments.
The European Open-Source Wave
Sweden joins a growing number of European countries moving toward open-source government infrastructure:
- Germany (Schleswig-Holstein): Completed migration from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice for 25,000 workstations in 2025
- France: Has maintained an open-source strategy for government since 2012, recently expanding with the ban on US video conferencing tools
- Italy: Requires government agencies to evaluate open-source options before procuring proprietary software
- Spain: Barcelona's city government runs primarily on open-source software
- Netherlands: Recently selected Nextcloud as its official collaboration platform
Recommended Open-Source Stack
The Swedish Agency for Digital Government (DIGG) has published a recommended stack of open-source tools for government agencies to consider:
- Collaboration: Nextcloud for file sharing and teamwork
- Office Suite: LibreOffice and Collabora Online for document editing
- Email: Open-Xchange or Kopano for email and groupware
- Messaging: Element (Matrix protocol) for secure communication
- Video Conferencing: Jitsi Meet for video calls
- Version Control: GitLab for code management and CI/CD
- Analytics: Matomo for privacy-respecting web analytics
Cost Savings and Security Benefits
The Swedish government estimates the open-source mandate will save approximately SEK 1.2 billion (roughly €105 million) annually in licensing fees within five years. But proponents argue the benefits go far beyond cost savings:
- Security: Open-source code can be audited by anyone, making it harder to hide backdoors or vulnerabilities
- Sovereignty: No dependency on foreign vendors who could restrict access or raise prices
- Interoperability: Open standards ensure government systems can communicate with each other
- Innovation: Government improvements to open-source software benefit the entire European ecosystem
"In a world where digital infrastructure is as critical as physical infrastructure, relying on proprietary software from foreign vendors is a strategic vulnerability. Open source gives us control over our own digital destiny." — Erik Slottner, Swedish Minister for Public Administration
