In response to Glyn Moody's Open Source and Open Standards under Threat in Europe (Update: sorry, the link is dead), here are the open replies to the key people (I'll post as they are sent).

Joaquín Almunia:

Dear sir,

I have just read some disconcerting news and opinions regarding the EIF process ("Open Source and Open Standards under Threat in Europe" by Glyn Moody), and I hope you have the time to include the opinions of a software developer in your deliberations.

I have been working in private companies and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) since my graduation in 2004. I am also an active web user and contributor. This activity has taught me a few important business lessons:
1. Open source software and data based on open standards* are much more robust in the face of change than the alternative. Software is evolving fast, but if the proprietary software provider is unwilling or unavailable to make new software work with old data, the only options left are a costly and difficult re-implementation, a costly and difficult (often impossible because of data complexity) migration to other software, or outright abandonment.
2. Closed source means re-inventing the wheel over and over. Software business should be about creating additional value on top of what already exists, not about costly reiterations of what already exists.
3. With the availability of cheap Internet connectivity, storage and computing power comes the opportunity for individuals and communities to make millions of incremental improvements to software every day. These updates are available to anyone else, making for an enormous amount of work provided for free for anyone to build upon or profit from.

* I.e., software / standards which are available for free for anyone to view, modify and re-publish, optionally with additional restrictions or permissions such as the opportunity to change permissions on derivative works or the need for source attribution.

Just received a reply. The gist:

Recently, "draft versions" of the revised EIF have apparently been published on the Internet and we understand that you refer to these draft versions. You should note that the Commission cannot comment on such draft versions as they do not reflect a formal Commission position. But let me assure you that the guiding principles for the revision of the EIF include technological neutrality and adaptability, openness and reusability, as specified in the legal base of the Programme "Interoperability Solutions for European Public Administrations" (ISA)2, in the context of which the revision is being carried out.