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US sanctions force The Netherlands off Microsoft and toward alternative NixOS

388 points · 396 comments · mywacaday

  1. PorciiVorbesc · · focus · HN ↗
    I still don't get why EU governments and agencies don't standardize around an already existing industry proven OS the EU already has domestically, which is SUSE, and need to each go reinventing the wheel their own way, which leads to higher costs and more fragmentation across the EU.

    I heard the reason was that NL doesn't know if SUSE will be sold off again and might end up in the hands of some US PE, but here's the thing, you're the government, you can just block the sale of companies related to sovereign national security like those making operating systems. You can just do things when you want to. You literally have that power. Exercise it for once FFS.

    1. dtech · · focus · HN ↗
      > I heard the reason was that NL doesn't know if SUSE will be sold off again and might end up in the hands of some US PE, but here's the thing, you're the government, you can just block the sale of companies

      The Dutch government can famously prevent sales of German and Luxembourgish companies yes.

      1. PorciiVorbesc · · focus · HN ↗
        I meant the EU, at EU level, not the Dutch government. Also it's not like the Dutch government can't cooperate with the other EU members like Germany and Luxembourg on such vital topics. Unless of course trust inside the EU is so lackluster that the Dutch government can't be sure where Germany and Luxembourg will stand, in which case it's already over for the EU.
        1. graemep · · focus · HN ↗
          Does the EU have the power to block sales of companies on national security grounds? Or to get member states to standardise on software?

          Its probably a good thing they do not have a standard, or at this point it would be Windows and pushing change through at the EU level would not be fast.

          1. PorciiVorbesc · · focus · HN ↗
            >Does the EU have the power to block sales of companies on national security grounds?

            Not on defense and national security, that's up to individual EU member states, but the EU does veto corporate mergers and acquisitions on Competition Law (Antitrust). So just find a loophole in that and use it to prevent SUSE be taken over by non-EU nations.

            1. [deleted] · · focus · HN ↗

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