diff --git a/tycho_build.gradle b/tycho_build.gradle
index ffab3da9f22a6fbac6fd137b0588deda14fff78f..cb85822477ae939f6944276c91c972b966ed993e 100644
--- a/tycho_build.gradle
+++ b/tycho_build.gradle
@@ -474,6 +474,7 @@ def parentPom(artifactId) {"""\
 
 	<!-- this is the parent POM from which all modules inherit common settings -->
 	<properties>
+		<project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
 		<tycho-version>${tychoVersion}</tycho-version>
 	</properties>