Data is a valuable resource for societal progress, economic and innovative development, improved
competitiveness, and
job creation. The examples in Figure 1 illustrate this, and these are only a small part of the
benefits (European Data
Strategy).
Figure 1 - Examples of Industrial and Commercial Data Use
The EU has developed a data strategy and set a course for the creation of a single data market,
which can be described
as follows (see Figure 2).
Figure 2 - EU Single Market for Data
The European data strategy focuses on putting people first in technological development and aims to
protect, promote and
share European values and rights in a digital world.
Citizens and businesses will benefit from data-driven applications in many ways (see Figure 3).
Figure 3 - Benefits to Citizens and Businesses from Data-Driven Applications
The EU will create a digital economy that is attractive, secure and dynamic by:
- Establishing clear and fair rules for data access and use;
- Investing in next-generation standards, tools and infrastructures for data storage and
processing;
- Cooperation and synergy in the European cloud space;
- Connecting European data in key sectors, with common and EU-wide compatible data spaces;
- Providing users with the rights, tools and skills to exercise full control over their data and its
use.
With the necessary policies and appropriate investments from the Commission, Member States and
businesses, Europe can
seize the opportunities and become a leader in data - 4 to 6 billion euros will be invested in
common European data
spaces and a European federation of cloud infrastructure and services. The benefits of creating a
single data market for
the EU are shown in Figure 4 (The European Data Strategy).
Figure 4 – Benefits for EU27
In order to ensure EU leadership in the global data economy, the European Data Strategy intends to
implement the
following steps (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu):
- Making legal decisions on data management, access and reuse;
- Making data more accessible by making valuable open data sets available across the EU and freely
reusable;
-Investing in the development of infrastructure, data sharing tools, architectures and governance
mechanisms for active
data sharing and connecting energy-efficient and secure cloud infrastructures and related
services;
- Providing access to reliable, equitable and competitive cloud services by stimulating the creation
of a market for
data services procurement and establishing clarity on the applicable regulatory framework for cloud
technologies.
It is already an undeniable fact that the key determinants of the digital economy are data. The EU
will become more
globally competitive as a result of a single data market that will create new processes, goods and
services, as well as
empower and benefit different user groups.