EU OS takes a ‘layered’ approach to its new Linux distro for the public sector

The European Union, following a well-trodden path, appears to be developing its own Linux distribution. This new version of Linux, dubbed EU OS, is a proof-of-concept for a Fedora-based distro that uses the KDE Plasma desktop environment.

EU OS looks to create a new Linux distribution that can serve as a base for all EU OS users and deliver the following benefits:

The option to add on top of the base OS layers (national layer, regional or sector-specific layer, organization-specific layer)
A common desktop environment
A common method to manage users and their data, software, and devices.

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Because EU OS is built from open-source software, it meets the requirements of the EU public sector and is fast and eco-friendly on new and old hardware. With Windows 10 about to reach end-of-life, this comes at a perfect time to help users from shelling out money for new hardware, with the bonus of gaining a more reliable and secure OS.

The EU OS site explains the layering concept:

“Layers define a clear and transparent hierarchy of responsibility for software and configuration. Each layer to EU OS would only contain the very specifics for their use cases and users. Using common layers allows them to pool responsibility at the appropriate level so that teams close to the end users can keep the focus on their specific environment.”

What’s driving the creation of EU OS? The motivation is the same as other similar projects — such as the French GendBuntu, Russia’s Astra Linux, China’s Kylin and Neokylin, Cuba’s Nova Linux, and Germany’s LiMux:

Public money = public code: The entire public would benefit from the investment
Tax savings: There is no per-seat licensing cost
Independence: No more vendor lock-in, scheduling software migrations, and fewer hardware upgrades required
Open-source: Fosters innovation
Better use of admin resources
Ability to do code analysis
A worldwide community

According to the official site, the functional requirements of EU OS are productivity, device management, scalability, security, and robustness. There is no indication of a timeline yet. Still, you can view the EU OS GitLab page to view the available documents and hopefully —  at some point — review any code added to the repository. At the moment, it seems much of what’s on the GitHub pages are placeholders, and no milestones have been reached. 

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Keep in mind that, for now, this is only a proof of concept, but you can view the project’s official Kanban board to follow its progress. 

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this project comes to fruition and that the EU finally adopts an open-source operating system that will save it money and deliver a more reliable, secure, and robust platform.

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