My Medium friends can read this story over there as well.
Microsoft Office is as permanent in government offices as flags and filing cabinets.
So, we thought.
But across Europe, something is happening: countries are steadily replacing Microsoft Windows, Office 365, Teams, and Azure with open-source alternatives built and hosted in Europe.
In other words, Europe is trying to tak back digital control.
And it didn’t start in 2025 with Denmark.
It started long ago in small steps, in Germany, Spain, France, and Italy.
LiMux
The City of Munich was one of the first governments in the world to attempt a full-scale migration to open source 20 years ago.
In 2004, it launched the LiMux project, replacing Windows with Linux and Microsoft Office with LibreOffice across 15,000 government PCs.
They did it because:
They didn’t want public administration to be dependent on a single foreign vendor.
They wanted control over their data and infrastructure.
Microsoft was lobbying aggressively and Munich said, “We’d rather not be cornered.”
Germans… ;-)
Over the next few years, Munich built its own Linux-based OS (“LiMux”) and contributed code back to open-source communities, helping develop tools that are still used across Europe today.
Did it work?
Yes. Technically, it succeeded. Reports from within the city confirmed the systems were stable and saved millions of euros.
But the headlines said later: “Munich abandons Linux, returns to Windows”.
Because politics changed. A new city government came in, Microsoft opened a shiny office in town, and the story became “Linux failed.”
Linux didn’t fail. Munich’s political leadership changed. And now, in 2025, Munich is moving back toward open source under a broader EU sovereignty policy, with lessons learned. And it’s not the only state in Germany taking action.
LiMux was version 1.0 of a large European transition in full force since the 2010s.
The Early Movers
Spain (Valencia, 2012)
Replaced Microsoft Office with LibreOffice on 120,000 government PCs
Saved millions in licensing
Used open formats (ODF) to ensure long-term data control
Motivated by vendor lock-in and sovereignty, not just cost
French National Police (Gendarmerie)
Began switching to Linux in 2004
Completed migration in 2017 to 90,000 Ubuntu desktops
Saved over €50 million
Strengthened national security by avoiding software subject to U.S. law
The New Wave
Denmark
The Ministry of Digital Affairs is replacing Microsoft Office 365 with LibreOffice and phasing out Windows by 2025
Copenhagen and Aarhus already switching to Linux
National goal: complete digital sovereignty
Working on exit strategies from Azure and moving data to EU-controlled clouds
Germany (Schleswig-Holstein)
Migrating 30,000 public sector users (including police and judges) away from Microsoft
Replacing:
Windows → Linux
Office → LibreOffice
Exchange → Open-Xchange
OneDrive → Nextcloud
Teams → Jitsi
Austria (Military)
Completed migration from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice
Funding LibreOffice development directly to meet military standards
Not doing it to save money — but to eliminate reliance on U.S. vendors
France
City of Lyon replacing Microsoft stack with Linux, OnlyOffice, PostgreSQL-based systems
Government building “Docs” — an open-source, EU-hosted alternative to Google Docs
National education ministry recommending schools avoid U.S. cloud-based suites entirely
European Commission (Brussels-level policy)
Interoperable Europe Act mandates open standards and promotes EU-built software
EU funding goes directly to open-source infrastructure (Nextcloud, LibreOffice, OpenProject)
Goal: digital autonomy at the continental scale
If It’s Open Source, Who Pays for It?
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Letters by Burk to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.