I'll be starting already.
What have you already been?
You've got two minutes extra.
You can do pretty excellent whatever.
Yeah, I actually do have my speech on paper.
It's mostly because I might occasionally have stage fright
and forget what I want to say.
It's not because I don't care.
You actually care.
Although the main person who did all the job and open sources
to think over there last Monday, Maritza, my colleague,
who was just in this room.
I will mention him, I think, one more time in the speech, actually.
So just so that, you know, who I'm talking about.
But being a pirate from the pirates party,
naturally, this topic is very close to my heart.
It's just, you know, talking about European legislation
and sort of setting the scene for the debate afterwards,
which is much more important.
And with people who are much smarter than I am and much more versed
in the topic is the important part.
But you will have to bear with me for like five minutes
before I finish my three pages of speech.
And I do hope that you will not be too bored
and that I will set up the scene nicely
into what was done in terms of legislation,
regarding open source in the European Union.
And what still needs to be done and what's your role?
Yes, your.
It's not just mine, you know, because I need open source community
to take an active part in this so that we can actually make change.
And I will speak about why.
So with this, I think I wasted my two minutes
that I had before jumping into this speech.
So yeah, and also I think we are way ahead of starting,
so people will be coming in.
But I will not let that disturb me of course.
So again, thank you for having me here today.
I am very delighted to speak about this topic.
I am very scared for any questions,
but I am mentally prepared for that.
Of course, I actually am trying to record here today a video
with couple of random people.
It's very difficult actually to come someone in an open source event
such as for them.
And as then to say something on the camera
because they are two types of people, right?
One of them are very shy.
And no one wants to answer any questions.
And the second part is very privacy prone,
so they are like, oh, it would be on video and internet
with my face exposed, no.
You know, so that was difficult already,
but I got a couple of answers.
And I love that one of them actually said something
that I have literally in my second paragraph.
And that person said that open source is not just
technological phenomenon, but philosophy.
You know, and I had it in my speech and I was like,
that's great.
I agree with it.
It is philosophy.
Because it then bodies like some principles.
He hates that idea.
A couple of the principles, like collaboration,
transparency, and fostering innovation.
And what my role here is today,
is to set the scene of how the open source philosophy
in influence EU legislation.
So one of the most notable examples
that I have to start with is the European Union public license.
It's an old one.
I don't remember it myself that much.
I'm very young, you know.
It was launched in 2007.
No, I'm not that young, but you know,
2007 I actually was 14.
So I did not care that much.
Although I already had that time had Linux,
Ubuntu.
And it was made in Rostafarian colors.
And when I look at the screenshots from back then now,
I'm like, Marquetta, cringe.
Sorry, but you know, 2007.
It was of course the first European free open source license.
Software license.
And it was drafted from the open source community's inputs.
And it has been translated into all of the EU languages.
So I think that's already,
that was already a great start of what can be achieved
when the open source community goes into the EU legislation.
And let's talk also about more recent cases
that maybe some of us were part of.
You and we have been part of shaping the EU's policies
on artificial intelligence, data governance, digital markets.
Of course, safety and cybersecurity.
Me myself, I am not part of most of what I explain
just the cybersecurity part.
But I already got so many important inputs
from your niche tool legislation in various cybersecurity reports.
Of course, whoever focuses your own cybersecurity knows
how European institutions themselves are screwed.
But we are trying to change them.
Hey.
So the other legislations that were passed through.
And very important was the product liability directive
where we successfully managed to exempt.
And that will be the biggest part of open source community
input, usually.
Don't count us in.
You know, we don't want to report on this.
But it's really important.
So exempt open source from to avoid any liability
of individual contributors.
And of course, I must also mention, as I mentioned,
artificial intelligence, the AI Act.
Where again, after a very tough fight,
open source benefits from certain protection,
that the licensing and transparency are appropriate.
Originally, I will sort of tell you a little thing.
I will help with this speech by my advisors.
And they put here, cyber resilience act.
Like, yeah, there are also many open source exemptions.
And it's like I crossed it out.
Because I do agree with my advisors.
I do think that CRA is actually not as bad
for open source community as is generally said.
But if I said it like that without any context and explanation,
then most of the community would be like, what the hell?
You know, CRA is classified.
But I did want to mention it.
Again, you were part of the discussion.
And to continue.
Wow.
Yes, this one.
I, of course, don't want to bring the wood into the forest,
as we say, in Czechia.
But I also want to talk about why your input,
the open source community, is important for e-legislation
and for anything we do.
And I want to do it because these successes,
that I mentioned in the product liability and the liability in the AI Act,
maybe even in CI, they've never free.
You know, when we went into the negotiation room,
we were usually facing a tough opposition to any ideas like that.
So what we usually brought to the table is,
the guy's open source, really drives innovation.
Because if you allow people to modify, to access,
to distribute, to share software,
then, of course, it forced us a culture of experimentation
and improvement, continuous improvement.
That's not, nothing you can do with vendor lockings.
And of course, this is very important for me,
not necessarily as a pirate, but as a policymaker,
because I am trying really relentlessly to push back against the idea
that additional protection of intellectual work
will lead to more and better innovation.
This is the most common argument I hear.
And it's not from policy makers, it's from business, of course.
Secondly, open source, of course, promotes digital sovereignty.
Because if you use it and contribute to the open source software,
we can reduce dependencies, dependencies on proprietary technologies.
We can enhance our cybersecurity.
It was my biggest point, like,
if I tell you nobody understands this concept,
or why cybersecurity is better with open source,
I would be understanding the situation that's going on.
Because, of course, immediately Microsoft and somebody swoops in
and is like, no, you know, if you can't see into it,
even the adversaries can't see into it.
So you are better protective.
Yeah, of course, Microsoft, go home.
And also, like, it's very particular in the case for public and state administrations.
And this is where I want to bring Marcel into the picture,
my colleague, from the previous Monday,
because he launched a forseps project.
In order to identify and promote the use of relevant open source,
initiatives for public administrations.
And we have just, I don't know, where he's sitting,
but had a discussion in front of these door with European Commission person.
And we've discussed that they were trying to put together a list of open source technologies
that are being used by various institutions,
and that it was very difficult already.
And I was like, why you don't know what you're using.
And, no, that was actually not the case.
And it's still not the case for many institutions.
So that the forefront, you know, we are nice, you know,
that the Council, Black Box,
which will be full of folks, including,
of course, whatever they are using.
Thirdly, and this is actually, I think,
important point and one person also answered that this for my video is
that open source is actually powerful,
economic driver.
I ask the question like, what do you think is the biggest myth about open source?
And the person answer that you can't make money with it.
And I do agree, and Hans, like supported it, it really enables European businesses, especially
SMEs to compete on global scale because then you can provide cutting it technologies
and reduce software costs.
And I also want to study here, which says, and that's crazy, that when Europe invested
one billion in Europe, in open source software in 2018, it brought positive impact on economy
between 65 to 95 billion in Europe.
And also, if those numbers are not persuading them, please make us, then I don't know
what else.
So, of course, given these benefits, it's vital that the open source community, open
source community, this voice, is held in Brussels.
And I do think that, you know, currently, the US at a critical juncture in terms of where
it will lead with its digital market.
Hopefully, on the single digital market, we are getting there.
But, of course, for this to happen, we need to build bridges between the open source
community and U.P.S. makers.
It's was sort of what I am here for, I am already the bridge, but I am very small part
of the bridge, of course.
And I think that it involves creating platforms.
So, hello, Phosem, thank you for creating this platform.
Also, fostering mutual understanding, and, you know, this sounds like a nice phrase from
the GPT.
It was not written by GPT, by the way.
But, I don't think it's just a phrase, but little needs, because I remember how much
work me, and I have this example of Marceligan, had to put into explaining to our colleagues,
what is interoperability?
You know, and it's quite an easy concept, actually.
It's horrible work.
But, quite an easy concept.
And, so, I gave those months before the understudy.
And, you know, so, mutual communication and understanding is a need, because people
don't understand open source community.
They don't even know what is vendor-locking, although they literally are locked in in
the vendors.
So, of course, it's can get challenging, but I think it's very important.
And, I think that it is even more important seeing the misunderstandings from policymakers,
regarding vital things for open source community.
And, of course, nothing of this will happen automatically.
Open source has made great strides in the EU, as I mentioned.
But, every success has been the persistent action or prepresistency, advocacy, and the willingness
to show up, to bring the arguments to the table, and to just help.
Because the push picks are real, and the victories were never easy ones.
They were really fought for, not handed to us.
So, this is why your involvement matter.
And, so, thus, I encourage you to definitely keep contributing, keep engaging.
If you did not do it, then start contributing and start engaging.
And, hopefully, then, we can have a future for open source in Europe.
And, maybe be an inspiration, because I don't want to get too political.
But, in terms of the global open source community,
I will not probably even speak about China.
And, I think I can't even speak about the US.
So, Europe is the last standing man, the last standing island of open source,
where we can be at the forefront, and we can show the good example that everybody can follow.
Thank you. And, of course, I look forward to any questions.
But, mostly to the next panel that we'll talk in much more depth about everything I just said.
Thanks.