European Commission Deploys Matrix App to 40,000 Staff as EU Pushes Digital Sovereignty
Updated
Updated · Computerworld · Oct 23
European Commission Deploys Matrix App to 40,000 Staff as EU Pushes Digital Sovereignty
1 articles · Updated · Computerworld · Oct 23
Summary
September 2026 marked completion of the European Commission’s desktop rollout of Element’s Matrix-based messaging app, part of a plan to support secure internal communications for more than 40,000 employees.
The Commission says the project is meant to improve resilience, business continuity and control over communications data, while reducing dependence on US suppliers after sovereignty concerns sharpened across Europe.
Element is complementing rather than replacing Microsoft Teams, and the rollout has hit technical and adoption hurdles including cross-server user discovery problems, disabled live presence and employee complaints about missing features.
Matrix is already established in parts of Europe’s public sector, including France’s Tchap for more than 400,000 civil servants, while Sweden’s eSam program is testing federation between agencies using different Matrix-compatible apps.
Forrester expects broader uptake of sovereign communications tools, but says migration will be gradual because organizations still rely on existing Microsoft ecosystems and may balk at fresh projects costing around €10 million.