Why the impasse on data flows threatens Europe’s digital recovery [Promoted content]

Most people’s image of world trade will be a huge container ship similar to the one that was recently stuck in the Suez canal, full of cars, clothes and other goods. However, the modern global economy increasingly runs on huge…

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Briefing – European Union data challenge – 28-07-2021

The exponential growth and importance of data generated in industrial settings have attracted the attention of policymakers aiming to create a suitable legal framework for its use. While the term ‘industrial data’ has no clear definition, such data possess certain distinctive characteristics: they are a subset of big data collected in a structured manner and within industrial settings; they are frequently proprietary and contain various types of sensitive data. The GDPR rules remain of great relevance for such data, as personal data is difficult to be filtered out from mixed datasets and anonymisation techniques are not always effective. The current and planned rules relevant for B2B sharing of industrial data exhibit many shortcomings. They lack clarity on key issues (e.g. mixed datasets), increase the administrative burden for companies, yet not always provide the data protection that businesses need. They do not provide an additional value proposition for B2B data sharing and hinder it in some cases. While this situation warrants policy intervention, both the instrument and its content should be carefully considered. Instead of a legal instrument, soft law could clarify the existing rules; model terms and conditions could be developed and promoted and data standardisation and interoperability efforts supported.

Source : © European Union, 2021 – EP

Briefing – Re-starting tourism in the EU amid the pandemic – 13-07-2021

Tourism plays an enormously important role in the EU economy and society. It generates foreign exchange, supports jobs and businesses, and drives forward local development and cultural exchanges. It also makes places more attractive, not only as destinations to visit but also as locations to live, work, invest and study. Furthermore, as tourism is closely linked with many other sectors – particularly transport – it also affects the wider economy. The coronavirus pandemic has hit the tourism sector hard. The impact on various tourist destinations in the EU has been asymmetrical and highly localised, reflecting differences in types of tourism on offer, varying travel restrictions, the size of domestic tourism markets, level of exposure to international tourism, and the importance of tourism in the local economy. At the beginning of summer 2021, several EU Member States started to remove certain travel restrictions (such as the requirements for quarantine or testing for fully vaccinated travellers coming from certain countries). However, all continue to apply many sanitary and health measures (such as limits on the number of people in common areas, and cleaning and disinfection of spaces). Such measures and restrictions change in line with the evolving public health situation, sometimes at short notice, making recovery difficult for the sector. The EU and its Member States have provided the tourism sector with financial and other support. Some measures were already adopted in 2020. Others were endorsed only shortly before the beginning of summer 2021. One flagship action has been the speedy adoption of an EU Digital Covid Certificate. This certificate harmonises, at EU level, proof of vaccination, Covid-19 test results and certified recovery from the virus. However, it does not end the patchwork of travel rules. Despite efforts to harmonise travel rules at Council level, Member States still apply different rules to various categories of traveller (such as children or travellers arriving from third countries).

Source : © European Union, 2021 – EP

Highlights – Recovery and Resilience Dialogue: committee debate – Committee on Budgets – Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

Impact of the Covid19 pandemic on EU Industries
The Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affair will hold their second Recovery and Resilience Dialogue with Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President for an Economy that Works for People, and Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni, on 14 July. The debate is expected to focus on the Commission’s assessment of national recovery and resilience plans submitted by Member States.

Source : © European Union, 2021 – EP

Highlights – Data governance act, joint undertakings, metrology: committee votes – Committee on Industry, Research and Energy

Hand on a voting machine
The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy will vote on its report on the proposed European data governance legislation, creating a framework to facilitate data sharing, on 15 July. It will also vote on its report regarding the establishment of joint undertakings under the Horizon Europe programme, and on the report on the EU’s participation in the European Partnership on Metrology, which aims to accelerate Europe’s global lead in metrology research.

Source : © European Union, 2021 – EP

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