November 19, 2018

The idea behind the draft Directive is to make it easier to re-use data held by the public sector. The reforms are part of wider EU efforts to increase the supply of data to support the economy and to make sure that more data is used for the benefit of everyone. The Council says that the new rules will encourage the development and uptake of new database services and technologies, such as artificial intelligence. They are also a major step towards making open data more widely available in the EU.

Under the existing Re-use of Public Sector Information Directive (2003/98/EC), any content publicly available under national legislation on access to documents is, in principle, re-usable for any purpose, including commercial purposes.

The reforms would extend the scope of the rules beyond public sector bodies to include public undertakings in the transport and utilities sectors.

The rules would also be extended to include publicly funded research data that is already available in public repositories. Such data would need to be made re-usable, for example by specifying appropriate licensing conditions. Member states would also have to establish national open access policies to support the availability of research data.

The draft rules also encourage the dissemination of dynamic data, such as real-time transport or weather data coming from sensors or satellites. Public bodies would have to make such data available via application programming interfaces (API).

The agreed text stipulates that high-value datasets (datasets of high socio-economic importance) would be identified as a second step after the adoption of the Directive. These datasets would need to be made available for free in the entire EU, and would have to be machine-readable and automatically transferable through an API. The Commission would draw up a list of specific types of high-value datasets in a separate implementing act, which would apply to both public bodies and public undertakings.

In addition, public sector data will become cheaper. It will normally be available either for free or at marginal cost.

The Council text also reinforces the concept of open data as meaning data in open formats that can be freely used and shared for any purpose.

Following entry into force of the Directive, Member States would have two years to adopt national provisions to put it into practice. Member states would be able to go beyond the minimum standards laid down in the Directive.

The Council’s agreement constitutes a mandate for the presidency to start talks with the European Parliament with a view to reaching agreement on the final text. The Parliament has not yet agreed on its position. To read the Council’s press release in full, click here.