Digital data is an essential resource for economic growth, competitiveness, innovation, job creation and societal progress in general.

The EU needs to ensure that data flows across borders and sectors. This data should be accessible and reusable by most stakeholders in an optimal way. A coordinated European approach is essential for the development of the data economy, as part of the Digital Single Market strategy.

The European Commission adopted a Communication on "Building a European Data Economy", accompanied by a Staff Working Document on January 2017, where it:

• looks at the rules and regulations impeding the free flow of data and present options to remove unjustified or disproportionate data location restrictions, and
• outlines legal issues regarding access to and transfer of data, data portability and liability of non-personal, machine-generated digital data.

The European Commission has launched a public consultation (10 January - 26 April 2017) and dialogue with stakeholders on these topics to gather further evidence. This process will help identify future policy or legislative measures that will unleash Europe's data economy.