In 2025, the German federal government committed to adopting the Open Document Format (ODF) as a national standard, driven by ambitions that go beyond mere technical interoperability. Back in March 2025, during its 46th Meeting, the IT Planning Council (IT Planungsrat), the central political body that guides the digitisation of public administration in Germany, noted that “open exchange formats are necessary for cooperation at national level”, welcoming the resolution of the 2nd Conference of Digital Ministers (DMK), which took place on 18 October 2024 in Berlin. On that occasion, the DMK recognised open formats as a key element in strengthening the digital sovereignty of the German public administration and called on the IT Planning Council to promote the adoption of an open exchange format, such as ODF, in procedures between the Federal level and the States by 2027, in line with the implementation and migration capabilities of existing systems. The DMK was established in April 2024 as a permanent conference of the State’s digital ministers and as a continuation of the “D16” meetings held since 2019, promoting exchange with the federal government and the IT planning council.
This transition to open formats is important because the exchange of documents at the national level is still mainly restricted to formats imposed by proprietary applications, resulting in a so-called “quasi-standard” that can hinder the digital transformation of public administrations.
From political commitment to implementation: the role of the IT Planning Council and the Federal IT Standardisation Board
After March 2025, the issue of open formats remained a priority for the IT Planning Council, accompanying the transition from the definition of policy objectives to the preparation of the operational conditions for their implementation. This continuity was also evident at the 48th meeting of the IT Planning Council, held on 26 November 2025, that confirmed the target for 2027. The meeting specifically confirmed that state administrations will gradually support ODF starting from 1 January 2027, and assigned the Federal IT Standardisation Board the role of monitoring the technical implementation methods and experiences gained, with an evaluation scheduled for 2028. The aim is also to ensure that the transition to these open standards achieves a high degree of consistency and uniformity at national level.
How regional experiences paved the way for national digital sovereignty
While the IT Planning Council and the Federal IT Standardisation Board define the national framework, regional experiences have already demonstrated how open formats can support digital transformation.
Some German regions have already launched pilot projects for the adoption of open source software and open formats. OSOR already reported on the specific and well-known case of Schleswig-Holstein, a state in northern Germany, which had gradually begun to reduce its reliance on proprietary solutions in favour of LibreOffice as early as 2012. This has meant a significant reduction in licensing costs and increased data security for the region. This is also confirmed by the 2024 Open Innovation and open source strategy document of Schleswig-Holstein, that states: “Important milestones on the way to the digitally sovereign IT workplace are the switch to the Open Document File Format (ODF) and replacement of the Office software with LibreOffice “.
