The Euro-Office suite, positioned as Europe’s answer to Microsoft 365, is leaving the browser-only environment behind. As announced by the developer group centered around Nextcloud, the software package will be released in the coming weeks as a native desktop application for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Until now, Euro-Office could only be used inside web browsers, such as via self-hosted Nextcloud servers. With the new desktop software, users will be able to work entirely locally while still collaborating on documents with other users. German hosting provider Ionos also plans to integrate Euro-Office into its managed Nextcloud offerings in the coming weeks.
Collaborative Project Based on OnlyOffice
Euro-Office is backed by a broad alliance of European companies and initiatives. Alongside Nextcloud and Ionos, participants include Open-Xchange, Office.eu, Eurostack, XWiki, OpenProject, Soverin, Abilian, and BTactic. From a technical standpoint, the software is a fork of OnlyOffice, with its source code made available under an open-source license on the GitHub development platform.
The project aims to make public administrations and enterprises less dependent on US cloud corporations. Much like other initiatives for sovereign communication services, digital sovereignty is the core priority here. In France, more than 550,000 teachers, students, and administrative staff already rely on Nextcloud solutions, and the German state of Schleswig-Holstein is also forging ahead with its migration to open-source software.
Debate Over Default File Formats
Right from the start, the choice of default file formats drew criticism from the open-source community. The Document Foundation, the organization behind LibreOffice, criticized the default use of Microsoft’s OOXML format (such as .docx or .xlsx) instead of the open OpenDocument Format (ODF), describing it as the wrong signal for sovereign software.
According to Nextcloud, the team generally shares the view that proprietary formats represent an obstacle. However, broad compatibility remains necessary for now to ease the practical transition for users and public authorities moving away from existing Microsoft environments. Starting with the upcoming release, users will nevertheless be able to switch the default save format to ODF manually, with the open format intended to become the long-term default.
Part of the Nextcloud Hub 26 Summer Platform Update
The Euro-Office desktop app is a core component of the updated “Nextcloud Hub 26 Summer” platform. The release brings several other new features: a dedicated app aims to simplify team management, calendar and productivity tools receive improvements, and file shares can now be protected using one-time passwords (OTPs). The Nextcloud Talk communication tool is also gaining “Classified” conversations for confidential content.
The integrated Nextcloud AI component has also been overhauled. The open-source assistant works with selectable language models under local data control and now processes audio and image files more precisely as part of multimodal inputs.
Sources: Computerbase.de/news
