Robert Riemann
Robert Riemann studied physics and informatics. Since 2017, he works for the EU in Brussels on technology policy and digital transformation. Witnessing the discussions on digital sovereignty from inside EU and member state administrations, he decided end of 2024 to develop in his personal capacity a vision of a common Linux-based OS for the public sector and other corporate use cases.
Session
Earlier this year at FOSDEM, EU OS presented the lessons learned from its first year of developing and advocating for a common Linux-based desktop for the European public sector. Since then, the initiative has entered a new phase: moving from architecture, consultation and Proof-of-Concept towards testing in real public-sector environments. C-Smart from Belgium helps EU OS to take this next step.
The objective is not to present EU OS as a finished product, but to show how open source, interoperability and digital sovereignty can move from policy ambition to a testable and operational public-sector alternative for in this case Belgian local communes. The session will highlight what still needs to be solved — technically, organisationally and collaboratively — and how cooperation between public administrations, open-source communities and suppliers, including across the Benelux, can help make a sovereign digital workplace a realistic choice for European governments.
