LibreOffice steward says Commish undermines its own standards by asking for feedback via Excel spreadsheet

The Document Foundation has taken a swipe at the European Commission over its consultation on guidance for the EU's Cyber Resilience Act – because the feedback template is only available as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

The nonprofit behind LibreOffice says the Commission's request for stakeholder input, published this week, requires responses to be submitted using a template available only as an .xlsx spreadsheet, a format that is controlled by Microsoft and typically edited using Excel or compatible tools.

For an institution that has spent years promoting open standards, digital sovereignty, and reduced reliance on proprietary technology, that choice sends the wrong signal, the foundation argues.

In a blog post and open letter, the group says the approach creates what it calls a "structural bias" in the consultation process. Anyone wishing to provide structured feedback on the CRA guidance must use a format tied to a single vendor's ecosystem ...