The next industrial revolution will be characterized by the digital economy and in particular by the use of data. In fact, several studies show that the global volume of data is destined to grow at an annual rate of 61%: going from 33 zettabytes (zB) in 2018 to a forecast of 175 Zb in 2025. This growth is accompanied by the spread of technologies based on the processing of large amounts of data, such as the Cloud Computing, artificial intelligence andInternet-of-Things, and therefore makes it necessary to define new data sharing strategies to promote innovation and exploit data as a resource.

the world's main economies are rapidly innovating their tools for accessing and using data: on the one hand, the United States entrusts the organization of spaces for collecting and sharing data to the private sector, but risking creating potentially dangerous oligopolistic phenomena; on the other, China is building a system characterized by government surveillance and strong control of Big Tech, where there is no adequate system to protect the rights of citizens.

The European Commission, in an attempt to outline a 'European path' of data strategy, starts from the management models of these competing economies and tries to overcome their critical issues by creating a European data space in the name of competition and the maintenance of the highest standards 'of privacy, security, protection and ethical norms'.

Data Governance Act

In November 2020, the Commission presented the first piece of this important path of digital transformation based on data: the proposed Data Governance Act. This regulation is aimed at governing four distinct situations: the reuse of data that is in the possession of the Public Administration (Government-to-Business, G2B), the sharing of data between companies for a fee (Business-to-Business, B2B), the introduction of an “intermediary for the sharing of personal data” in order to assist individuals in exercising their protection rights, and the sharing of data on a voluntary basis for research projects (Data Altruism).

With regard to data held by the Public Administration, since Directive 2003/98/EC, relating to the reuse of information in the public sector, the European Union has always adopted an approach aimed at making this data available to third parties. Consequently, in upholding this vision, the Data Governance Act aims to make available a massive amount of data held by the Public Administration, which, however, are not yet accessible to third parties due to limitations only partially deriving from the GDPR, such as: commercial confidentiality, statistical confidentiality, the protection of the intellectual property rights of third parties or the protection of personal data.

The reuse of these data can represent an important opportunity for growth in scientific research and for European companies, in particular for SMEs, which under current conditions suffer from the fragmentation of the European data market to which they are unable to access under the same conditions.

EU Digital Compass 2030

Recently, the Commission presented a 'compass' that will guide European action in regulating the digital market over the next decade. The reform plan is based on four cardinal points, including the digital transformation of companies; in fact, these represent an important engine of innovation and growth for the European economy and will be able to create new processes and new business models based on a fair single data market.

The commission's proposal, in relation to this context, therefore aims to promote the digital transformation of companies, create a fair and competitive digital economy and establish a new level playing field with respect to third countries.

The Covid-19 pandemic has shown all European companies the need to carry out a digital transformation of their business as soon as possible, through the vertical integration of third-party services or the adoption of tailor-made solutions in-house to meet the needs of the digital market. However, the current emergency has also highlighted the reach in Europe of Digital Divide to the detriment of SMEs, which do not always have the necessary tools to be digitally competitive.

Consequently, by 2030, the Commission aims to establish a European market, where: 75% of companies use cloud computing, big data and artificial intelligence tools, and 90% of small and medium-sized enterprises have a solid base of Digital Intensity, that is, the portion of digital technology used by an organization, which integrates people, processes and technologies, in order to gain a competitive advantage.

In addition, the European Commission aims to create an ecosystem favorable to the birth of start-ups and unicorns, through clear legislation and a solid infrastructure for investments.

Companies, in particular SMEs, while recognizing the value and potential of data in defining and orienting their products and services, often desist from adopting effective strategies for using and studying data for fear of the legal implications related to their management or because of the technical difficulty of effectively integrating tools suitable for their business.

The Data sharing and the creation of Data Spaces municipalities at European level seem to be the keystone to unleashing potential that is now unexpressed and creating that added value represented by data for European companies. I Data Spaces aim to overcome legal and organizational obstacles to data sharing, through: tools and platforms of Data sharing, the creation of paintings by governance of data and the improvement of the availability, quality and interoperability of data, both in sectoral and intersectoral contexts.

To achieve this objective, the European Commission intends to invest at least 2 billion euros by 2022, in addition to 4-6 billion in combined investments, with the aim of promoting”a high-impact project on European data spaces”.

In order to support this transition to a massive use of data by SMEs and researchers, the Commission has decided to first establish some common data spaces at the sectoral level, so as to create different similar ecosystems and facilitate the adoption of Data Strategies on the part of those subjects who until now have not been able to exploit, due to the difficulties mentioned above, the potential of data.

In particular, the Commission envisages the establishment of the following common European data spaces:

• a common European space for industrial (manufacturing) data,
• where the potential value of using non-personal data in the manufacturing industry can represent an important difference in terms of productivity and competitiveness for European companies;
• a common European data space on Green Deal,
• In fact, Europe has the ambitious goal of becoming a continent with zero climate impact by 2050, in this path it will be essential to be able to exploit the enormous potential of data in carrying out the actions of Green Deal;
• a common European mobility data space,
• the automotive sector and passenger transport activities have been affected for some years now by a digital transformation guided by the vertical integration of various tools in the products and services offered, which enrich the end user experience. Consequently, in this context, data becomes an important factor of innovation towards a new, sustainable and intelligent form of mobility.
• a common European space for health data,
• the current pandemic has shown how health data and its sharing are fundamental, both in patient care and in the field of research. In fact, the speed with which vaccines against Covid-19 were created is justified in the first instance thanks to the amount of health data shared between institutions and research centers in a manner Peer-to-Peer (an example of this is the research project”Health“). Un Health Data Space at European level, it could, on the one hand, allow citizens to freely access their data and to provide treatment tailored to the patient's needs, on the other hand, it could allow researchers and pharmaceutical companies to access precious health data sets;
• a common European financial data space,
• European legislation already requires financial institutions to publish a significant fraction of the data in their possession, this tool will strengthen the principles of open finance and transparency in this sector and stimulate innovation;
• a common European energy data space,
• where numerous directives already guarantee customer access to their data relating to meters and energy consumption and the portability of such data on the basis of transparency and non-discrimination and in compliance with legislation on the protection of personal data. Un Data Space energy aims to create innovative solutions and to support the decarbonization of the European system;
• a common European data space on agriculture,
• where the processing and analysis of data relating to production, in particular with reference to supply chain, make it possible to apply efficient production techniques and approaches on the farm;
• a common European data space for public administration,
• In this context, the proposed Data Governance Act already outlines the principles and guidelines to be followed in the implementation of this Data Space, which may allow the introduction of innovative applications”Govtech“,”Regtech” and”Legaltech” in support of citizens;
• and finally, a common European data space on skills,
• with the aim of creating a Talent Network at European level in order to respond quickly to the transformations of the labor market and adapt to the needs in terms of new skills;

In addition, the European Union will continue to work on the creation of a European Cloud for open science (EOSC), which aims to guarantee European researchers, innovators, businesses and citizens direct access to data and its reliable reuse, through a distributed and open data environment.

In conclusion, the EU Commission's reform plan is supported by a solid structure of governance, multinational projects to achieve the objectives set by the digital compass and international partnerships. It is undoubtedly an ambitious plan where the involvement of the public and stakeholders will be essential to successfully achieve digital transformation.

The establishment of Data Spaces sectoral, and later also intersectoral, unlocks the potential of Data sharing in the European market and allows the EU to become a more attractive, secure and dynamic economy, in a word: Smart, because it is based on data through which to improve the decisions and lives of European citizens.

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