APELL Advisory Board

APELL is founding an Advisory Board – join us now!

In 2020, European Open Source business associations came together to found APELL – The European Open Source Software Business Association. APELL is bringing national Open Source Software organisations together into a European network and builds long-term relations with relevant decision-makers at the European level.

The APELL Advisory Board was established in 2025. Participants in the Advisory Board have direct influence on the focal points of APELL's policy work and are involved in ongoing discussions and developments in the EU around Open Source at an early stage. Members of APELL's national member organisations can join the APELL Advisory Board through their national organisation.

Participation in the APELL Advisory Board

Participants in the APELL Advisory Board join exclusive monthly online policy-briefings to review ongoing procedures and new developments. In order to maintain a strong and reliable presence at EU level, APELL’s Advisory Board participants contribute to APELL’s inputs and positions on relevant dossiers, such as legislative proposals, ongoing procedures, and the implementation and transposition of laws related to Open Source.

Participants in the Advisory Board are encouraged to suggest topics for discussion with decision-makers and invited to join events organised by APELL and its partners. Advisory Board participants receive priority invitation to events organised by APELL or jointly with partners, and receive prominent visibility there.

Advisory Board participants are prominently displayed to our network via APELL’s website and other publications.

Join the APELL Advisory Board!

The Advisory Board provides reliable income and thus sustainable funding for APELL and its activities at European level. All members and their member companies should jointly benefit from being represented at European level, especially now with full-time representation in Brussels. The APELL Advisory Board enables participants to contribute to this common goal of establishing Open Source businesses at European level.

For participation in the Advisory Board, the national associations charge a contribution of €6,000/year. The funds are used to actively position APELL in Brussels on Open Source issues through its Director EU Government Affairs, Sebastian Raible. Sebastian is a computer scientist with nine years of experience as assistant and policy advisor in the European Parliament, and has been a long-standing supporter of Open Source. He represents APELL towards the European institutions in Brussels and throughout Europe. (See his LinkedIn for his full resume.)

The active work of the APELL Advisory Board has begun in 2025 and is led by Sebastian Raible.

The Advisory Board consists of members of the national associations from Europe and thus represents the entire European Open Source business community. The Advisory Board is open to companies that would like to get involved at European level in addition to their national association. If you are interested, please reach out to us: