World of Open Source: European Spotlight 2026

Europe’s relationship with open source is shifting on three fronts at once. AI changes how developers use and contribute to open source projects, in sometimes unexpected ways. Governance models built for a slower era are being tested by the pace of AI-assisted code and security reviews, as well as by mounting regulatory pressure, from the Cyber Resilience Act to open questions about who actually gets a say in a project’s technical and community decisions. And digital sovereignty, once a niche concern, has become a boardroom priority, reshaping how organisations weigh vendor lock-in, data control, and the case for open infrastructure. Ahead of its October publication, Linux Foundation Research’s “World of Open Source: European Spotlight 2026” surveyed developers, engineers, and IT leaders across Europe to measure these shifts empirically. In this keynote, lead researcher Mirko Boehm gives Percona Live Amsterdam a sneak preview at the findings.