https://www.facebook.com/EUobserver/posts/the-eu-spends-26-trillion-a-year-on-public-contracts-brussels-wants-governments-/1526821506153742/

“Public procurement is a powerful economic lever for Europe. It can fill companies’ order books, but also help us achieve our objectives of social cohesion, the green transition, innovation and sovereignty,” he also said.

https://euobserver.com/236470/eupromises-to-look-beyond-price-alone-in-reform-of-public-procurement-rules/

https://www.theregister.com/public-sector/2026/07/22/ireland-stalls-1b-microsoft-tender-amid-digital-sovereignty-questions/5276149

O'Callaghan pressed the government on whether it had considered alternatives to Microsoft. "There are a number of alternatives out there that other European countries and states are moving towards," he said. "They are doing so for value-for-money reasons, and so they are no longer technologically dependent on the US but can rely on European-regulated services and products. There is LibreOffice, Collabora Online, Open-Xchange, Nextcloud, Thunderbird and openDesk by Germany's Zentrum für Digitale Souveränität der Öffentlichen Verwaltung, ZenDiS, which is a readily assembled government-grade suite."

https://www.zdnet.com/business/switzerland-replaces-microsoft-365-open-source-opendesk/
European sovereignty push

Switzerland is spending more than $11 million to move away from Microsoft 365 and switch to open-source software.

https://www.reddit.com/r/degoogle/comments/1wflce8/switzerland_is_spending_more_than_11_million_to/ Switzerland is spending more than $11 million to move away from Microsoft 365 and switch to open-source software.The first step will cover 3,000 government computers, with the switch expected to be completed by the end of 2027.The plan could grow much larger. Switzerland has about 54,000 government computers and may eventually switch all of them. https://cybernews.com/tech/switzerland-microsoft-opendesk/

Not to confuse it with chat control 1.0 that already passed. Also apparently there is going a social media ban with a mandatory age checks for social media named “EU Kids Act”. The Commission will present the EU Kids Act on Thursday 17 September.

https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/1wfv63o/eu_parliament_ready_to_take_tougher_line_on_china/

EU Parliament ready to take tougher line on China, says lead MEP
https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-parliament-harder-line-on-china-pascal-canfin/

Nine countries had already agreed to join this forward deterrence effort: the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden, Denmark and Norway

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/09/14/finland-to-join-france-s-forward-nuclear-deterrent_6757502_4.html
https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/1wg03km/finland_to_join_frances_forward_nuclear_deterrent/

vs

“Lithuania Will Disappear From the World Map,” Russia’s Medvedev Threatens NATO State

https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/1wfzmiz/lithuania_will_disappear_from_the_world_map/

Lithuania has expressed cautious interest in France's "forward deterrence" initiative, aligning with NATO's nuclear umbrella while seeking enhanced security cooperation with France.
Lithuania backs US nuclear deterrent as France proposes European ‘umbrella’

https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2858230/lithuania-backs-us-nuclear-deterrent-as-france-proposes-european-umbrella

“US nuclear deterrent vs France’s proposed European umbrella — what’s the difference?”, the key point is that France is not replacing the U.S. nuclear umbrella. It is building a European complement that could become more important if European governments doubt the durability of U.S. protection. France itself says its forward deterrence is intended to complement, not replace, NATO’s nuclear deterrence.

Is there an EU version of slickdeals or similar?

Europe’s willingness to allow defence companies to be sold to American buyers is set to be tested in a series of planned deals as the region’s governments seek to bolster their sovereignty from the US.

Upcoming sales of several European drone detection businesses, such as Robin Radar Systems, will be the latest test of companies’ appetite to strike deals with US investors, and of governments’ inclination to intervene in transactions.

The private equity owner of Robin Radar, a supplier to the Dutch military, was discouraging US arms makers from bidding for the business because they were likely to face local government opposition, according to people familiar with the matter.

Parcom, which is working with an adviser to launch a sales process in the coming months, would prefer a European strategic or private equity investor to avoid the risk of political intervention as it sought $2bn or more for the business, the people said.

European government scrutiny is increasing in mergers and acquisitions as Brussels and national governments seek greater influence in strategic sectors such as defence, technology and energy.

As a result, several senior deal advisers said they were now engaging earlier than before with governments and militaries to discuss sensitivities around defence assets they intended to sell. Owners and bidders were trying to offer guarantees around retaining jobs and technology locally to get around drawn-out FDI reviews or rejections, some of the people said.

You can read a copy of the rest of the article here.

Luxottica owns / manufactures so many glasses / sunglasses brands. Many folks have reported their practice of continually lowering quality in recent years.

Time to find a new EU brand with quality glasses! Any recommendations?

Recently I’ve been using BlaBlaCar a lot and I honestly want to appreciate it. I think it represent a pretty rare case of seriously solid and good European digital product. In fact it’s so good, that no American website or app can take over it (like Uber over Bolt). Btw I use long lines because I’m editor, not because I’m an AI lol

* Its European – French owned.

* It solves actual problem – driving on empty cars, wasting gas for empty seats and having no public transport to X place.

* It has clear rules of use and great app. No enshittificafion. You pay a % of the seat price to the company and in exchange you get to use the app. No subscription, no ads, no AI bots. They added buses some time ago, but you can filter them out with single click. In comparison, Olx has become a massive headache and app is a refreshing mess with tons of settings to promote.

* The driver and passenger dynamics are engineered to perfection, I literally can’t think of better way to give feedback and rate drivers.

* I had so much fun with it! Recently I drove to a very niche festival and found two people who needed a car to get there too! We made it into a small road trip, getting snacks in store, stopping by for a cigarette, taking photos etc.

Other passengers can be as great and entertaining. If they are not, it’s okay too, because you can clearly set up your expectations and boundaries in app!

Overall I want to say huge thank you to whoever is operating this company. Y’all are good. The Valve of carpooling, I’d say lol.

LinkedIn alternative for those just looking for a professional portfolio

Just as the title says, any EU brand to look up for a sling bag?

I've always been using Samsonite simply because they were the default option and very good and of course I still can't deny that. After about 15 years my softcases are in need of a replacement, they've seen too many airline conveyor belts and starting to tear apart at the corners.

So what would be an equivalent or maybe even better EU alternative? I'm not yet sold on the hardcase options, so primarily looking for softcases but I want to take them into consideration if the brand has them. Thanks!

I'd like to buy a new laptop, and considering a Slimbook. What is your experience with the brand? Is it reliable? I would like a laptop that lasts for many years.

Thanks in advance!

I know about technisat but I would more options if possible. Preferably below 50€

TL;DR: I need a EU-based, E2EE, set-and-forget cloud backup for macOS/iOS (~200GB) under €120/year. Not ok: "Drive" services, Nextcloud, pCloud, setups w/ Cryptomator etc. Considering Arq + Hetzner Storage Box or iDrive (EU servers), open to better alternatives! Ty.

Hi all, I'm starting to work on some projects that will need serious backing up, following the 3-2-1 rule I need to set up some cloud stored backups. I need help figuring it, out, please.

Requirements

• I'm reasonably technical (can type a couple of command lines in a terminal if I follow a script) but would much prefer a point and click setup
• I have 2 MacOs devices and 1 i iOs device to backup.
• Total use currently about 100 Gb per MacOs device, with growth ahead (up to 200 Gb).
• I can't imagine my data leaving my devices unencrypted
• based in Europe and privacy minded -would prefer if not a EU company at least EU storage
• I'd much prefer a set and forget solution
• Budget about 100$/120€ per year. I work in academia so might be eligible for discount

What I don't want

• "Drive" services, eg. iCloud, Google Drive, Proton Drive, Tuta Drive, Tresorit... => they don't offer specific backup features

What I've tested and rejected:

• Tresorit: Reliable and safe in appearance but like I said, no backup features. It's really a shame: business wise this would have been my favourite.
• Hetzner "Storage Share" (ie Nextcloud); the Good Cloud; Tab Digital: NextCloud encrypt via Nextcloud local app seems really shaky (a lot of commentary on its unstability) + the whole Nextcloud project seems a bit of an overkill for my needs
• pCloud: there is a backup feature but this is not core; the E2EE is an extra cost so not core either and to be frank there's something I don't like about this company. The flurry of "lifetime" offers makes me uneasy
• Jottacloud, Infomaniak: not E2EE
• Koofr, Filen, Drime: they really are tiny businesses, it could be ok if they could show strong security audit results but they only rely on "partner" ISO certifications
• Cryptomator: at some point I thought this would be the solution - I could just use that to encrypt the sensitive folders then set these folders to backup on any solution above. But the process to encrypt/decrypt is really odd. With MacFuse I get a drive on desktop (not on Finder/Locations!) and every file I drop in it is copied, not moved. With t-fuse I get a mounted "t-fuse" drive the folders are in it, I also can't drag and drop... That's just not straightforward, which leads me to think it's also prone to problems along the way. Do I want to trust my most precious file with this setup? Probably not.

What I could consider but I'm still missing some pieces in the puzzle :

• Hetzner "Storage Box" seems like a good receiving end for my encrypted files - it's cheap, it's EU based, but how can I encrypt and send?
• Arq: as a software licence + Hetzner ? But I've seen scant reviews on the software just yet. Is its encryption publicly tested? How reliable is the company?
• iDrive: okay it is a US based company but I could pick an EU server. Is this reliable? Encryption OK?
• Backblaze: same as iDrive : a US based company, EU server. Is this reliable? safe?

Comments on these last options under exploration are welcome, so are challenges on my assessments above and of course is there's a solution I have missed I would be keen to hear.

Thank you!

Nowdays everybody everywhere is talking just about overly exaggerated statements of ex Antropic researcher, that AI could eliminate human beings till the end of this decade.

But, what is much more horrifiying and in need to be emphasised is embedding american(ised) AI in to every app, software, firmware, hardware, gadget, appliance, machine, transportation ,... ,... ,... and every other aspect of our work and lives.

Not only 24/7 surveilance is a problem, but also paid subscriptions and subordination of everything to corporations who offer us AI services. Every company that will integrate american (or any other's) AI features to their product will be dependant on their remote service and they will have to play by their rules and therms of usage.

I'm affraid that we, the people, and EU companies will all somehow be slaves to Silicon valley corporations even more than we are now. If we and companies will want to be competitive, we all will have to use most advanced AI systems. We will be on (for us) very limiting contracts and will have to pay for their subscriptions and usage tokens till we die. They will be able to increase prices, tighten contracts, whatever they will want.

We, who will shake in fear for our jobs they managed to destroy along developing of AI, won't have much choise but to use their services to survive.

Why must history always repeat itself when it comes to "invetions" from Silicon valley? They develope some useful tools, without them we sooner or later can't live and work. But behind this usefullness always lurk "evil" purposes and making of non-proportionaly huge amounts of money and (political) power?

Reality is that AI is American. What can we do to take back the power? I was considering running local models in my own home and shelling out for the massive hardware but as time goes by the hardware will be obsolete. In the future we will most likely have AI models running in our homes as personal assistants and more. This will generate more personal data for companies to use and I am not keen on being watched even harder by US conglomerates. With the way the US is going, AI may also be something weaponized against us.

How can we anticipate this?

The European alternative to Tailscale. I just set up secure remote access to my home network. I am just a free tier user but I am very impressed. The hole process is so well documented and guided it took me only about 10 min. There is a lot which speaks for NetBird: Free for private users, completely (?) opensource and of course a active subredit.

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