> Last, but not least, most expenditures related to the purchase of Microsoft licenses will contribute to the GDP of Ireland (where all Microsoft products sold in Europe are sourced from) rather than to local enterprises who support the open source solutions deployed today.
IANAL, but isn't encouraging the City of Munich to source from "local" enterprises vs Ireland a violation of EU free-trade laws? By the same token Ireland could then discourage/block "imports" from Munich and we'd be back to the internecine trade conflicts the EU was supposed to stop.
Free market doesn't mean you have to go with the cheapest solution. It means you have choice. Preferring local firms is ok because they're competing in a free market; they aren't being given contracts because they're local, it's just local firms will be opening up to supply the demand.
For a local government a preference of local business is not only ok. It should be the first choice, the second choice and also the third one.
In this case, as there is totally different tax flow involved as the article nicely explains, local business is the only responsible choice for an elected government, IMHO.
> Last, but not least, most expenditures related to the purchase of Microsoft licenses will contribute to the GDP of Ireland (where all Microsoft products sold in Europe are sourced from) rather than to local enterprises who support the open source solutions deployed today.