A European strategy for data

Key messages

• We support the development of Common European Data Spaces in strategic sectors of the economy supported by a governance framework that encourages voluntary business-to-business (B2B) data access and sharing.
• Implementation of the strategy must safeguard fair competition so that equal conditions for all businesses are upheld within the data economy. Close monitoring of this strategy and existing law, such as the Platform to Business Regulation, is crucial in this regard.
• Existing legal frameworks (eg. intellectual property, privacy and competition) affecting B2B data sharing should be evaluated and clarified to facilitate voluntary data access and sharing.
• Data sharing should be incentivised through fair, simple, intelligible, secure, interoperable and affordable data sharing agreements that either monetise data providers participation or enable “giveand-take” schemes.
• An industry-driven approach to standardisation should be the basis to achieve greater interoperability and portability within the data spaces.
• The data spaces should be underpinned through cloud infrastructure that is based on trust, openness, security, interoperability and portability principles to build trust for market participants to share, store and process within the data spaces.
• Access to “public interest” data could be incentivised to enhance European research and competitiveness but requires careful assessment of the costs and benefits to ensure appropriate businesses compensation. A common understanding of what data is in the “public interest” would aid this.
• The potential to create and grant mandatory data access rights should only be pursued if the initial initiative to set up Common European Data Spaces proves to fail in achieving its objectives.
• Data itself is not the sole enabler of innovation. The skills needed to extract value from data and the awareness around digital technologies will play a critical role in Europe’s bid to lead in digital transformation.