On June 19th, NGI Commons kicked off the NGI Forum 2025 in Brussels. As the flagship event of the European Commission’s Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative, the Forum brought together experts, policymakers, researchers, and innovators for two days of collaboration and discussion focused on shaping Europe’s digital future.
The forum highlighted the importance of Digital Commons. Far from being merely technical assets, they were emphasised as essential infrastructure for advancing Europe’s digital sovereignty. As such, the event offered a platform to examine how innovation can be more effectively aligned with public values and policy leadership.
“Digital commons are not just technological building blocks; they are a critical infrastructure for Europe’s digital sovereignty and empowerment of all citizens. The NGI Forum 2025 gave us the opportunity to discuss how we can create a more coherent European funding landscape that bridges both public and private sectors.”, commented Dr Monique Calisti, CEO at Martel Innovate, Coordinator of the NGI Commons initiative.
Session Spotlight: “Digital Commons: Tools for Building Digital Sovereignty”
Moderated by Dr Monique Calisti, this session discussed the practical challenges and philosophical underlying principles of Europe’s digital transition.
Sean Bohan, currently serving as a Community Architect at the Open Wallet Foundation, delivered a compelling keynote on the interoperability of digital commons. During his talk, he reflected on a question he was once asked while working at Mozilla: What would a better internet look like? This question likely captured the core value that resonated throughout all the panels at the event. Sean also highlighted the importance of interoperable digital wallets, calling them the browsers of the future and essential public infrastructure. Following his speech, the panel discussion provided some inspiring reflections.
- Karin Lammers, an independent consultant, stressed the need for internal resilience within open source projects. She advocated for better process management, documentation, and strategic alignment, questioning the continued reliance on non-open tools and urging communities to capitalise on “low-hanging fruit.”
- Pascal Steichen, from the Luxembourg House of Cybersecurity, introduced the mantra “public money, public code”, emphasising cybersecurity as a foundational layer of open source development. He argued that strategic autonomy—not mere digital sovereignty—should be the guiding objective, prioritising competence and choice over control.
- Denis “Jaromil” Roio, from Dyne.org Foundation, warned of the slow pace of standardisation and the risks of “funding hype.” Advocating for interdisciplinarity, he proposed involving not just policymakers and lawyers, but also scientists and philosophers in shaping Europe’s digital policy landscape.
- Robbert van Kranenburg, from Martel Innovate, closed the session by reinforcing the urgency around strategic autonomy and the need to address sovereignty as a tangible, current concern.
Session Highlight: “Towards a Strategic Agenda for the Digital Commons”
This second session expanded the conversation, laying out policy, governance, and investment strategies critical to Europe’s digital future.
- Paul Keller from Open Future Foundation, outlined a three-pronged shift in EU digital policy: commit deeply to open-source, invest in digital infrastructure, and govern the Digital Commons inclusively. He advocated for a Digital Commons EDIC and a reallocation of funds from innovation to sustainability.
- Lukasz Klejnowski, advisor to MEP Michał Kobosko, emphasised procurement as a key policy lever to shift demand toward European solutions. He backed Paul Keller’s call to transition from research to infrastructure investment, stating, “Every component of the ecosystem is infrastructure.”
- Isabelle Zablit Schmitz, a digital health expert, cited the Draghi report to underline digital as Europe’s only viable path forward. She proposed co-creating essential digital services between public and private actors, urging alignment with the European digital roadmap.
- Robin Berjon, from IPFS Foundation, emphasised that “infrastructure defines power”, arguing that real sovereignty comes through control of digital infrastructure. He critiqued the lack of enforcement in the Digital Markets Act and called for stronger self-governance and alignment of funding with long-term strategic needs.
Public Procurement and Regulation: Tools to Scale Sovereignty
- Paul Keller highlighted the opportunity for public procurement to mandate interoperable, open, and European solutions, creating sustainable digital markets.
- Lukasz Klejnowski pointed to imbalances in current EU procurement practices, often favoring non-European providers. He announced a forthcoming revision of the EU’s Public Procurement Directive.
- Isabelle Zablit Schmitz called regulation “the EU’s sharpest tool,” stressing the importance of coordinated governance and regulatory frameworks to enable European scale.
- Robin Berjon went further, urging Europe to think beyond interoperability and toward democratic power structures embedded in technology governance.
The session concluded that achieving sovereignty requires strategic coordination, institutional support, and a stronger European presence across all layers of the digital stack.
What’s Next: From Policy Vision to Strategic Action
The significance of these ongoing debates was underscored by the prominent involvement of representatives from the European Commission’s DG Connect. During the event, Director Thibaut Kleiner delivered a powerful address, reaffirming DG Connect’s unwavering support for the Digital Commons and Open Source as key pillars of European digital sovereignty. His speech marked a turning point and outlined a strategic way forward.
Thibaut Kleiner stressed that Europe stands at a crucial crossroads and must build on its current progress. He highlighted that ‘sovereignty’ has become a central theme in global digital policy discussions, particularly in light of growing concerns over external dependencies. Notably, he pointed out that Big Tech currently controls 70% of the European cloud market. Despite considerable efforts in the Open Source space, Kleiner argued that Europe has yet to fully capitalise on the value it creates. “We do the work,” he remarked, “but we don’t monetise it,” noting that much of the resulting economic benefit is captured by non-European players.
Aware of the dynamics and positive energy within various NGI Communities, Thibaut Kleiner highlighted the importance of advancing sustainable solutions and expanding on the achievements of NGI Communities by introducing the concept of the Open Internet Stack.
“This year’s NGI Forum brought together the NGI community and reaffirmed its resolve to contribute to Europe’s digital sovereignty by building and supporting digital commons. Voices from across the community emphasised the core principles that underpin NGI’s success: openness, interoperability, and technological openness. These must become the pillars of the next generation of Europe’s digital infrastructure”, commented Paul Keller, Director of Policy at the Open Future Foundation.
With over 200 participants, the NGI Forum 2025 was a resounding success. Brussels hosted numerous engaging and impactful talks on Digital Commons and the pursuit of stronger solutions for Europe’s Digital Sovereignty.