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15 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 21 JULY 2021 EUROPE This article is part of a content series called Ewropej. This is a multi-newsroom initiative part-funded by the European Parliament to bring the work of the EP closer to the citizens of Malta and keep them informed about matters that affect their daily lives. These articles reflect only the authors' view. The European Parliament is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. THE legislative proposal that will define data governance rules for industrial data across the EU received the green light in the relevant European Parliament committee on Friday 16 July. The committee on industry, research and energy adopted the report on the Data Governance Act (DGA), the first legislative building block of the European Commission's data strategy pre- sented last year. The final parlia- mentary vote is expected at the plenary session in September. "We want to build up a Euro- pean data economy. The per- sonal data revolution was made by Facebook, Google and others. But Europe has a really strong industrial base, hence mak- ing industrial data available for commercial purposes is very im- portant," Angelika Niebler, the Parliament's lead negotiator on the proposal, told EURACTIV. Mentioning a recent study from the industry association BDI, Niebler noted that 90% of German SMEs are reluctant to share data as they fear unauthor- ised access. The DGA intends to unleash the untapped poten- tial of data sharing in Europe by providing trusted data exchang- es and legal certainty. Data governance For VOLT MEP Damian Boe- selager, the DGA "is essential for the future of the data economy because it provides an ex-ante structure for data sharing mar- kets. The key issue here is to effectively connect the data that exists in many companies, public authorities and research bodies with those who can use such da- ta for business, sciences or other purposes". The new regulation will pro- vide for the reuse of public sec- tor data, protected either by in- tellectual property rights or by commercial confidentiality ob- ligations. Public data will need to be anonymised before it is shared. For sensitive data shared with a third country, public in- stitutions will be responsible for ensuring an adequate level of da- ta protection is maintained. The DGA also introduces the concept of 'data altruism', which enables individuals and organ- isations that collect data purely for reasons of public interest to donate their data, for instance for medical research. Such an or- ganisation will be able to register at the EU level as a Recognised Data Altruism organisation. "By establishing this govern- ance framework, it should facili- tate data sharing in particular for SMEs, as they would have easy access without having to fear that they are not complying with EU rules or exchange platforms using the shared data for their own benefit," Niebler added. Data intermediaries The DGA also formalises the role of data intermediation ser- vice providers, a market that is still emerging in the EU, with the notable exceptions of Denmark and Finland, where these servic- es are already advanced. "A key component of the DGA is the clear rules for intermedi- aries, which will help to create fair and interoperable markets where players of all sizes have a chance to flourish. This is essen- tial to unlocking innovation in the data economy, especially by European SMEs," Finnish law- maker Miapetra Kumpula-Natri told EURACTIV. The core principle is that data intermediaries will have to en- sure neutrality when they offer their services, as they will not be able to use the data for their own interest or for business services other than the ones that were agreed upon. "Re-use of data and access to data should not become the mo- nopoly of a few, therefore access should not be exclusive to any actor unless strictly necessary," said Karen Melchior, opinion rapporteur for the Parliament's Legal Affairs committee. The DGA also introduces a 'soft' certification system for data intermediaries, based on which the relevant public au- thority will verify compliance in advance, ensuring legal clarity and easy access to data market- places. The competent authority is to be defined under national law. Common standards The original version of the DGA had established the Eu- ropean Data Innovation Board to oversee implementation. EU lawmakers have introduced the Data Innovation Advisory Coun- cil, a subgroup with represent- atives from academia, research, industry, and civil society. Shadow rapporteur Nicola Danti noted that "one of the main objectives of the Board will be working towards increasing interoperability and creating common standards to avoid the fragmentation of the internal market, as well as fostering the creation of Common European Data Spaces". The advisory group will con- tribute to finding shared posi- tions on issues of standardisa- tion and interoperability. "This is the European way to proceed. Politics gives the framework but the technical implementation needs coordi- nation. We should find a com- mon understanding on how we should move forward, where we need a technical or legal frame- work for standard-setting," Nie- bler added. Upcoming negotiations The EU Council representing the 27 member states is current- ly defining its position ahead of interinstitutional negotiations between the Parliament and the Council. Niebler, who will lead the ne- gotiations from the Parliament's side, warned that she would not accept a final compromise that would make the legal framework too complicated for small and medium-sized firms to operate in the data economy. Sources involved in the DGA consider the file relatively un- problematic compared to the Data Act the Commission is due to announce later this year, which is set to regulate the con- tentious issue of data ownership. Parliament committee adopts Act 'to build up a European data economy'