At a glance
- Europe needs simpler, harmonized data rules to unlock competitiveness.
- Capgemini’s study on behalf of DG CONNECT provides a blueprint for EU‑wide data simplification.
- Simplifying the Data Governance Act, Open Data Directive, and Free Flow rules enables broader, cheaper data reuse.
- Better data reuse within a Single European Market for Data accelerates innovation, AI development, and economic growth.
Since the publication of Mario Draghi’s report The Future of European Competitiveness in 2024, EU policymakers have sought to strengthen Europe’s position in the global digital economy. One thing that European competitiveness and innovation depend on is data: how we collect and process it at scale, manage its quality, and make it available for productive reuse.
Why does data matter for Europe’s competitiveness?
The European Single Market is based on the principle that EU Member States can realize more economic value by working together rather than separately. The European Single Market for Data applies that principle to the rules that govern data flows and reuse. Harmonization is necessary if we are to maximize the value of data: breaking down barriers to secure and sovereign data sharing, and reducing the friction and costs that lower competitiveness.
This data is now the fuel for artificial intelligence models, enabling both their training and use. The successful implementation of AI, particularly sovereign AI in the context of the EU, relies on high quality data sets that have continuity and are regulated properly. It also depends on all the Member States working together to guarantee that quality. This ties our data story back to the European Single Market for Data.
How can Europe create value with data?
The natural outcome of getting this right will be to give Europe’s entrepreneurs, citizens, politicians, policymakers, academics and journalists the best data possible with which to continue the EU’s journey towards being a global data powerhouse.
We are, of course, talking about data that can bolster economic development and be used for building businesses; that can help make better products and services for consumers. It is also data that can also be used for security and defense, while citizens and scientists alike can use it to monitor environmental situations. And it can be used to fact check media content or hold public officials to account.
There is a caveat in all of this. While it’s clear that data plays a role in upholding our democracies and European values, there’s also recognition that we need to balance idealism and reality when it comes to open data. Our changing geopolitical climate demands a more nuanced approach to data sharing and monitoring. We must safeguard Europe’s data sovereignty and mitigate any malicious intent from external actors.
How will simplified data regulations strengthen European competitiveness?
It’s become a cliché to describe data as the new gold or oil, but water can be a helpful analogy. We can’t live without water. It’s renewable. It flows and is transparent. It comes from diverse sources and can be put to many uses, but only when it’s of the right quality.
Europe’s data regulations and policies have evolved over time, largely in decentralized ecosystems. That’s only natural. What this means, however, is that rather than one big ocean or a river of data running through the continent, multiple data regulations result in many streams, springs and other sources being managed differently by diverse stakeholders.
The EU’s ambition for a European Single Market for Data is changing this topography. The time is right to move towards a more centralized approach. This is further heightened by global competition from regions where centralized regulatory models allow faster commercialization of AI.
What will a simpler regulatory landscape for data make possible?
Unravelling complexity will mitigate the high transaction costs on the data supply side. In turn, this will boost tech competitiveness and save money for EU businesses.
Simplifying rules will also address the many layered policy initiatives that have been causing a further headache for government institutions and statistical offices. It will resolve their uncertainties about when to publish data sets as open data or whether they should be protected data under the Data Governance Act, and even when GDPR applies.
That’s not all. Actors in the European data ecosystem will gain clarity around how to classify data, how they should store it, and whether it should be shared. The result will be to make valuable data available for reuse. Failing to do this at scale will be something of a disaster in the information economy.
How is Capgemini helping to shape the EU regulatory landscape?
Capgemini has written annual reports for the European Commission on Open Data Maturity and eGovernment, and is a member of the consortium behind the Data Spaces Support Centre. Our teams work with both public and private sector organizations to unlock the value that is latent in Europe’s data.
Thus, we were commissioned by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT) to determine whether three acts were collectively advancing the objectives of a unified, innovative, and competitive European data market:
- The Free Flow of Non-Personal Data Regulation
- The Open Data Directive
- The Data Governance Act
The findings from our detailed evaluation support study then helped to shape the EC’s Digital Omnibus. This is a legislative consolidation package designed to simplify EU digital rules.
What did Capgemini evaluate as part of the DG CONNECT study?
Our in-depth analysis explored the minutiae of each regulation to understand what is working and, crucially, what isn’t. It considered whether the anticipated impact of policies already in play had been realized.
This saw us looking at each of the regulatory building blocks individually – the micro and macro elements, the constantly evolving external forces, such as geopolitical instability, and the steady growth of data-hungry A. All of these have implications for how data is protected, priced, shared, monitored, and more.
And we looked at the ease of reuse, the different data sets, and even the specific directives. Then we asked what it all meant in a cross-cutting sense, analyzing the different directives and regulations and their interface with others.
How did the DG CONNECT study help shape the EC’s Digital Omnibus?
This evaluation looked at European data policy already implemented. It aimed to analyze and then come up with ways to better harmonize and align existing regulation so that it is less burdensome for data to be published or reused.
The outcome for the European Commission is the Digital Omnibus – see FAQs for more detail on this. It is about consolidation and simplification, where some pieces of legislation are repealed and rolled into one Data Act. Yet this form of deregulation is not simply about getting rid of rules. Rather, it’s about understanding what rules are most important, even if they’re difficult, and then providing the support needed to comply with those rules.
In Europe, we value regulation and rules because they offer important protections.
How will the DG CONNECT study help to strengthen Europe’s digital economy?
Why does this work matter? Because it takes what’s important and what works and puts it into a simplified legislative framework. This will mean less friction and lower transaction costs to get better quality and more data into the system. This is essential to ensure Europe’s global competitiveness and data sovereignty.
Our assessment was one of the first early studies to explore how the new geopolitical concepts that we’re dealing with, both inside and outside the EU, might be properly introduced into the open data ecosystem.
Until recently, open data has been managed on principles that are somewhat ideological, such as zero cost and being open for everyone. Today we’re in a different geopolitical context. This means that we need to be more nuanced on pricing, on protecting or making our data safe, and on ensuring that the use of it is, at the very least, monitored in some cases.
How will data simplification benefit public sector organizations?
We firmly believe that the entities required to publish data will welcome this initiative. That’s because it gives them a clearer picture of what data they need to publish and how, such as through which licenses. As an example, there are more than 400 different reuse licenses on the European data portal. So, publishing data in a more structured and standardized way will help to simplify this.
Public sector organizations can continue their efforts in making the most of their data, while taking the path towards more EU harmonized data in future. Understanding and acting on what’s needed to unravel current legislative complexity will ultimately break down barriers to the free flow of information in the European data economy.
Why must Europe come together in a Single Market for Data?
A simpler, more easily navigable regulatory landscape sits at the heart of the European Data Union Strategy. This is especially important as we face economic headwinds, which demand that Europe sets a new competitiveness agenda. Europe needs to be leading on this issue. For example, it will underpin AI development on the continent.
This is a difficult time for policymakers in the EU. As the geopolitical system changes, they must think about trust, security, defense, and more in the context of our public sector data. The policy directions our report has set out respond to those issues.
How will the DG CONNECT study impact European data policy?
Our input into the EC’s Digital Omnibus will help to turn regulatory compliance into a competitive advantage, not a costly burden for EU’s businesses. We’re helping EU Member States strike the right balance between what they’re legally obliged to do with their data and what is already working for those organizations and departments needing to publish or process data.
In all of this, collaboration across Europe’s data ecosystem will be vital. We need better public-private relationships in this domain, with the supply and demand sides or the publishing and the reuser sides coming together on a future regulated path towards more harmonized EU data.
Collaboration that yields data sharing among respected and trusted organizations will accelerate the European Single Market for Data.
What’s next for the stakeholders in Europe’s data economy?
It’s time for a proactive approach to how and with whom we share data. Many organizations still see data as a reactive compliance exercise. At Capgemini, we think differently. We believe the organizations that thrive today are the ones able to foresee where they’re going; ones able to make sure they are equipped to proactively address technological advancements and more easily comply with legal obligations. This applies to the new regulatory landscape proposed for governing Europe’s data. All EU Member States should recognize that the Digital Omnibus is just the latest legal step in the transformation of Europe’s data economy and won’t be the last.
The important thing is to ensure your organizational setup is equipped ahead of the game to manage further changes in the future.
How can people get help with implementing new EU data policy and systems?
As we have discussed above, common legislative measures on data governance, access and reuse will yield less friction and reduced costs in the pursuit of better quality and greater volumes of data that can be shared across EU Member States.
A simpler, standardized framework will also steer a common path towards utilization of high-value publicly held data sets – identified by the EC as publicly owned data sets that can have major benefit for society, the environment, and the economy.
While the outcomes of a simpler, standardized legislative approach to data offer an exciting prospect for Europe’s digital economy, it’s not always easy to transition to new regulations and directives. That’s why help is at hand. Whether it’s support from the European Commission itself, policymakers, or partners such as Capgemini, no organization needs to go it alone.
With our insights directly utilized to inform policy recommendations and simplify the regulatory data field, we are proud to support ongoing efforts to streamline and strengthen the EU’s open data landscape.
Read more
Read the study on the evaluation of the legal framework of EU data policies on the Europa website and on the official publications portal of the Publications Office.
FAQs
How will this project affect EU data policy?
We produced a comprehensive report supporting the EC’s Digital Omnibus initiative. This summarized areas for future policy exploration, presenting recommendations to guide the next phase of the policy cycle.
These included fostering sustainable business models for data sharing, strengthening national coordination, harmonizing legal definitions, and providing clearer operational guidance with the objective of realizing a unified Single Market for Data across Europe.
What is the EC’s Digital Omnibus?
Unveiled in late 2025, the European Commission’s Digital Omnibus is a key element of the EC’s new Digital Package, designed to simplify EU digital rules and boost innovation.
The Digital Omnibus proposes amendments to our personal and non-personal data and cybersecurity rules and certain elements of the AI Act. Simpler, streamlined rules on data are reflected in the reduction of laws from five to just two, the Data Act and the General Data Protection Regulation.
How did we undertake the analysis for this project?
On behalf of the EC’s DG CNECT, Capgemini and our partners in this project, Spark Legal and Policy Consulting and Open Evidence, implemented a comprehensive, evidence-based evaluation of the three regulations, which included:
– A wide range of surveys, interviews, and expert focus groups to capture the perspectives of over 500 stakeholders from public authorities, businesses, civil society, and academia.
– Use case analysis and desk research to map the policy context and identify practical barriers and opportunities.
– Statistical analysis of open data publication and reuse trends, leveraging data from EU and national portals.
– Triangulation of findings from multiple sources to ensure robust, actionable recommendations.
This approach enabled us to provide the European Commission with a nuanced and authoritative assessment of the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, and coherence of the legislative framework.
How will the data rule changes affect Europe’s economy?
The changes proposed aim to boost tech competitiveness and save money for EU businesses by simplifying rules, streamlining procedures, offering one-stop solutions, and removing overlaps and outdated provisions.
Can the public and private sectors work together in this area of data sharing?
Yes. This is something that Capgemini is keen to promote. We are fully conversant with the EU Member State and government perspective on the data economy, while also understanding the importance of this to the private sector, for example to boost shared innovation or product development.
The private sector and the citizen population are often where the true impact is realized. Our objective is to make the data transformation journey easier for all parties and bring them together to build business models and data-based use cases for mutual (and, most importantly, citizen) benefit.
