January 28, 2019

The EU is increasing the availability and reuse of publicly funded data. The Council says that this will significantly contribute to the competitiveness of the European data economy and spur the development and uptake of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing and many others.

The Council has now reached a preliminary agreement with the European Parliament on new rules designed to increase the supply of data to support the economy and modern data-based society, and to promote the use of open data in the EU. The preliminary agreement still needs to be approved by the Council.

The reform extends the scope of the rules on the reuse of public sector information beyond public sector bodies to include public undertakings in the transport and utilities sectors. It also introduces the concept of high-value datasets, which would need to be made available for free throughout the EU. To read the Council’s press release, click here.