Data are a cornerstone of the research process. The European Commission has introduced numerous pieces of data-related legislation to make more data available for Research and Innovation (R&I) and regulate their use. Science Europe follows these developments closely to ensure the best possible conditions for research.
Sharing and re-using data are seen as good scientific practice. The European Strategy for Data, published by the European Commission (EC) in February 2020, foresees a comprehensive approach to foster data sharing across sectors and make more data available for R&I. This approach will translate into different legislative proposals and initiatives that can impact researchers and research organisations.
Science Europe closely follows the plans of the European Commission and has provided feedback on its data strategy to ensure it reflects the needs of the scientific community:
Science Europe calls on the European Commission to take into account the important role of the research sector as producer and user of data.
The European Commission intends to develop sectoral data spaces in strategic areas such as health, mobility, and agriculture. Cross-sectoral actions are meant to link these different spaces to create a European data space. Science Europe:
To provide a legal basis for data spaces and cross-sectoral data exchange, the European Commission issued a proposal for a Regulation on data governance. It aims to increase data availability by addressing four different points:
Science Europe monitors the legislative process closely to identify potential impact of the regulation for its members and the wider research sector.
Access, interoperability, and the use of high-quality data are cornerstones of research and innovation. Science Europe, therefore, welcomes the initiative of the European Commission, as outlined in the European Strategy for Data from 19 February 2020, to create a single market for data that would enable the digital transformation of society through more and better access to data.
To complement the Regulation on Data Governance (Data Governance Act), the European Commission is currently preparing a proposal for a so-called Data Act, which is expected towards the end of 2021. With this Data Act, the EC intends to create a data economy that fosters data flows between countries and sectors. Several aspects in the planned proposal could potentially have an impact on the research sector, such as:
The European Commission reacts to the rapid development of online platforms and services and strives to update existing EU legislation on digital services and platforms. The revised legislation aims to harmonise the definition of responsibilities and obligations of the wide spectrum of digital services and online platforms to protect all users of digital services. It will also aim to define rules to ensure that markets characterised by large platforms remain fair.
Science Europe has provided feedback on the EC’s plans for the updated legislation based on the needs of its members:
The foreseen scope of the new legislation is not clearly defined and greater clarification should be introduced to ensure that the Digital Services Act does not have unintended effects on research.
Researchers who use cutting-edge digital technologies such as text and data mining (TDM) need to be able to do so without legal uncertainty even when working in collaborative projects with private partners. Science Europe worked with its members to ensure that the European copyright legislation, adopted in 2019, took into account researchers needs.
In its September 2016 proposal for a revised Copyright Directive, the European Commission included a copyright exception for large-scale digital analysis of data by research institutions, known as TDM.
Science Europe, in collaboration with like-minded stakeholders, successfully advocated to extend this exception to include commercial entities, as in a modern research environment scientists frequently collaborate with commercial partners and the same rights must also apply to them.
Science Europe Response to the European Commission’s Consultation on a Future Data Act
Science Europe Response to the European Commission Consultation on European Digital Principles
Science Europe Response to the European Commission Inception Impact Assessment for a Data Act.
In its response to the European Commission, Science Europe highlights that the foreseen scope of the new legislation is not clearly defined and greater clarification should be introduced to ensure that the Digital Services Act does not have unintended effects on research.
In its response to the European Commission Roadmap for an upcoming legislative proposal on the governance of common European data spaces, Science Europe reinforces the need to consider sectoral policies to ensure coherence.
Science Europe calls on the European Commission to take into account the important role of the research sector as producer and user of data. The longstanding experience of the research sector should feed into the development of an overarching EU data strategy that promotes data access across sectors.
In its response to the EC consultation on the European Strategy for Data, Science Europe also underlines the need to consider sectoral policies to ensure coherence between overarching and sectoral policies.
In this joint statement research and Innovation stakeholders call on the EU institutions to seek a balanced approach to data sharing in response to the European Commission’s proposal for a revision of the Directive on re-use of public sector information (PSI Directive). While the partners are supportive of the European agenda to promote Open Science and innovation, and share a common commitment to the principle of making research data ‘as open as possible and as closed as necessary’, there is a need to focus on the optimal re-use of research data and not on the (unconditional) opening of such data.
Science Europe is disappointed that the European Parliament did not sufficiently improve the far too restrictive proposal by the European Commission for text and data mining in Article 3 of the new Directive on Copyright, in today’s plenary vote.
Science Europe supports the principle that research data should be “as open as possible and as closed as necessary.” However, the particularity of research data as well as of data about research activities requires careful consideration on which aspects are better dealt with by legislative acts or by guidelines developed by the research sector.
This open letter, signed by the European Research and Innovation community, calls on Members of the European Parliament and the Council to secure Europe’s leadership in the data economy by revising the Text and Data Mining (TDM) exception in the draft of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market. It calls for the TDM exception to apply to any person that has legal access to the content to help the European data economy grow, foster innovation, and encourage entrepreneurship.