'For many years, Europe has relied on American software and therefore created a certain risk of dependency': European alternative to Microsoft Office launches — but will this open source champion be good enough to topple Word and Google Docs?

• Office.eu runs entirely on European infrastructure to protect local data sovereignty
• The platform integrates document editing, email, calendars, and calls in one workspace
• Collabora Online provides the office suite, derived from the LibreOffice codebase

A new digital workspace called Office.eu has launched in a bid to provide a European-controlled alternative to widely used office software platforms.

The platform is described as a cloud-based environment built entirely on European infrastructure and owned by a European company.

The company says its overall aim is to reduce long-standing reliance on software ecosystems dominated by American vendors.

A push for European control over digital infrastructure

"We have seen more and more how essential it is to become cloud-independent and to rely on software that is built around European values," said Maarten Roelfs, CEO of Office.eu.

"For many years, Europe has relied on American software and therefore created a certain risk of dependency, but it has also given away control over its own data. Office.eu proves that we now have a strong European alternative, with sovereignty, privacy, and transparency at its core."

The service offers a collection of productivity tools which combines document editing, file storage, communication features, calendars, and email services inside a single platform.

Although marketed as a new alternative to dominant office software ecosystems, the underlying technology appears to rely on existing open-source collaboration frameworks.

Office.eu runs on infrastructure built around Nextcloud Hub, which combines file management, messaging systems, and collaborative workspaces.

Document editing within the platform appears to rely on Collabora Online, an office suite derived from the codebase of LibreOffice, allowing users to create and edit documents directly through a browser interface while supporting collaborative editing functions.

Concerns about digital sovereignty have gained attention among policymakers and organizations across Europe in recent years, as discussions focus on reducing reliance on platforms operated outside the European Union.

Projects such as Office.eu attempt to address that concern by offering collaboration environments hosted entirely on European infrastructure.

Office.eu says the system integrates files, communication tools, and collaborative editing capabilities within a single workspace.

"Office.eu is 100% European-owned and runs entirely on European data centers. The data and the apps stay exactly where they belong and are safe from non-European control,” Roelfs added.

“The office suite is very intuitive and easy to use, enabling a seamless switch from American software to Office.eu. We also help customers migrate conveniently from Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.”

However, the software architecture shows that the platform depends heavily on well-known open-source building blocks rather than entirely new development.

The hosting infrastructure relies on European data centers operated by the German provider Hetzner.

The service is currently rolling out across Europe through an invitation system for selected organizations that have requested access.

As for pricing, the company says it is comparable to existing market offerings, and migration tools are available to move data into the platform.

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