Controversial European Interoperability Framework Announced

PCW - The European Union has issued new public procurement rules that broadly favor open source technologies.

The controversial European Interoperability Framework (EIF) was finally released on Thursday. The framework sets out the interoperability standards to be used by member states in exchanging data between public administrations.

The final text however is broadly supportive of open standards, the main bone of contention. "Due to their positive effect on interoperability, the use of such open specifications has been promoted in many policy statements and is encouraged for European public service delivery," the text reads. "The positive effect of open specifications is also demonstrated by the Internet ecosystem."

The Business Software Alliance (BSA), whose members include Microsoft, SAP, IBM, Dell and HP, recently argued that this will encourage companies to give away their patents if they want to win public sector contracts. However, the Commission says that public administrations may decide to use less open specifications, if open specifications do not exist or do not meet their interoperability needs.