Our Work

• Policy

  We work with policy makers and public bodies in Europe to enhance the rights of Free Software users and developers and to abolish barriers to Free Software.

  • Our policy goals for 2014-2019

• Legal

  In our legal team, we collect and share knowledge about legal and licensing aspects of Free Software, safeguard the interests of Free Software projects, connect experts throughout the world and help other groups achieve similar goals. We provide assistance, training and documentation, in partnership with gpl-violations.org and members of the European Legal Network.

  • The European Legal Network

• Public Awareness

  Informing the public about Free Software is part of FSFE's core mission. Many people in the organisation are experts on various Free Software topics, and can be contacted about giving authoritative talks, holding workshops, or participating in discussions.

• Open Standards

  Open Standards allow people to share all kinds of data freely and with perfect fidelity. They prevent lock-in and other artificial barriers to interoperability, and promote choice between vendors and technology solutions. FSFE's work on Open Standards has the goal of making sure that people find it easy to migrate to Free Software or between Free Software solutions.

• Public procurement

  Free Software is a perfect fit for the public sector. It brings efficiency to government, transparency to citizens, and competition to business. FSFE works with public bodies throughout Europe to improve public IT procurement and open up opportunities for Free Software.

• Software patents in Europe

  Software patents are a menace to society and economy. They restrict innovation, damage businesses and put collaborative creativity in great danger. FSFE fights to keep Europe free of software patents, and works at the UN level to abolish software patents around the world.

• European Union

  FSFE works with the European Commission and European Parliament to create a positive environment for Free Software and Open Standards in Europe. We fight against monopolies and for competition in the software market by participating as an interested third party in antitrust cases. We inform policy makers about the opportunities that Free Software offers, and push for interoperability.

  • Microsoft versus European Union citizens

• Education

  FSFE actively promotes the use of Free Software in schools and universities. Free Software is pedagogically superior, its basic spirit involving freedom and cooperation is the same spirit of education in a democratic environment.

• United Nations & WIPO

  FSFE has been active at the United Nations level since 2002, helping to create a free and equitable global information society. We hold observer status at the World Intellectual Property Organization.

• FOSS4SMEs

  The FSFE is partnering with five other European organisations to create an e-learning course about Free Software tailored to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The Free Software Foundation Europe has worked on many other issues and campaigns. See our Finished And Discontinued Projects for details of what we've achieved.