Finding a European Way: the EU’s Quest to Promote the Data Economy

In February 2020 the European Commission released its communication on a European strategy for data, and began a consultation on this strategy which ended 31 May.

The strategy was prompted by the fact that the vast majority of European data is currently left unused, and the Commission’s belief in the enormous potential of this data to create economic and social value for Europeans. Furthermore, the Commission is concerned by what it views as risks to Europe’s digital sovereignty, should the European data economy be over reliant on external providers.

The data strategy contains numerous proposals to promote greater data sharing in the European economy, and to overcome the obstacles to doing so. At the heart of the strategy is the proposed creation of a common European data space, which will include specific European data spaces for various economic and social sectors. This will ensure the flow of data between EU Member States and between these diverse sectors.

This policy brief explores this ambitious and broad ranging plan, and assesses the proposals to achieve its goal of harnessing Europe’s vast quantities of data for the benefit of the European economy and society.