Communication on Building a European Data Economy

European Commission's Communication on Building a European Data Economy, COM(2017) 9

Summary of CSC's position paper:

European Data Economy needs a wider scope where barriers are removed beyond the data localisation restrictions, focusing on what is the most effective way of promoting data movement, building on existing efforts and aligning with relevant parallel initiatives. Semantic and technical interoperability, data security, data ownership and seamless data movement between sectors are issues to be addressed in order to build a functioning data economy.

CSC supports promoting the free flow of data in Europe. The EC Communication (COM(2017) 9) is a step in the right direction. Data and data analytics are essential for growth and innovation. It is crucial for European competitiveness to create a consistent and coherent legislative basis to enable an effective and efficient data economy. Europe's global competitiveness is at stake, and now is the time to act.

We are witnessing an enormous change in how both business and research are done, caused by exponentially growing volumes of data. This revolutionary phenomenon is similar to the birth of the Internet and all of its implications are not yet known. What we already know is that data is a crucial element in creation of new business all over the world, and Europe is lagging behind in this development. The focus should not be too much on what new regulation Europe needs, but instead, how data movement and usability can best be ensured and what is the most effective way of doing it - whether it is regulation or something else. Creating new regulation at this point might be a risk as it can cause barriers that are difficult to remove afterwards. What is needed now is a critical analysis of existing regulation and removal of legislative barriers. Promoting data movement should not only be seen as mechanical elimination of barriers, but as a strategic competitiveness factor for Europe.

European Commission's page

Read CSC's position paper here