From code to community: insights from DrupalCon Vienna 2025

Last week, the Europa IT team took part in DrupalCon Vienna 2025. For those who have not attended before, DrupalCon is one of the main gatherings of the Drupal community, bringing together developers, designers and public sector organisations working with the platform on a daily basis.

For the Commission, being present at this type of event is not only about following technical developments. It is also a way to stay connected to the community behind the tools we use, and to position our work within a broader European context.

This is closely linked to the Commission’s Open Source Software Strategy. In practice, it means working in a way that promotes reuse, transparency and collaboration with other public administrations. It also supports wider objectives such as interoperability and digital skills, which are part of the Digital Decade priorities.

Drupal has been part of the Commission’s web landscape for more than 15 years now. What started with a limited number of websites has progressively evolved into a large-scale ecosystem. Today, more than 330 Drupal websites are in production, supported by teams across DIGIT and other services. The main platforms receive between 10 and 15 million visitors per month.

At this scale, we are not just using Drupal — we are part of the ecosystem. This is reflected in the way we work. Contributions are not something done on the side, but are included as part of project activities. The teams contribute to Drupal core and maintain over 113 modules on Drupal.org. This places the Commission among the main end-user contributors.

The idea behind this approach is simple: if public money is used to develop something, it should be reusable by others. In practice, this means sharing what we build whenever possible and aligning with the standards of the wider community.

DrupalCon is one of the places where this approach becomes concrete. In Vienna, the team had the opportunity to exchange directly with other public sector actors, compare approaches, and contribute to ongoing work. It also helped to increase visibility of the Commission’s activities, with a number of ideas and session proposals already emerging from the discussions.

One aspect that stands out in these events is the community itself. Drupal is not only a technology; it is a network of people who maintain it, improve it and support each other. This is particularly relevant for public administrations, where similar challenges are often addressed in parallel.

Following DrupalCon Vienna, the Drupal Community of Practice will continue to build on these exchanges, including through upcoming activities and contributions. Colleagues interested in the topic are welcome to join and follow the work.