COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS European Cloud Initiative - Building a competitive data and knowledge economy in Europe
Date: 2016-04-19
Institutions: Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, European Commission
Subjects: EU initiative, digital archiving, exchange of information, information storage, information technology, information technology applications, knowledge economy, on line data service, scientific exchange, transmission network

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 19.4.2016  COM(2016) 178 final   COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS European Cloud Initiative - Building a competitive data and knowledge economy in Europe {SWD(2016) 106 final} {SWD(2016) 107 final}  
 
 
Introduction  

The world is witnessing a dramatic increase in the amount and variety of data being produced. 
Alongside  the  data  created  by  billions  of  people  using  digital  devices  and  services  for 
personal  and  professional  reasons,  and  the  data  generated  by  the  increasing  number  of 
connected objects, there is data from research, from digitised literature & archives and from 
public  services  such  as  hospitals  and  land  registries.  This  "Big  Data"  phenomenon  creates 
new  possibilities  to  share  knowledge,  to  carry  out  research  and  to  develop  and  implement 
public policies. 

It  is  also  becoming  easier  to  exploit  this  data  thanks  to  the  Cloud.  The  Cloud  can  be 
understood  as  the  combination  of  three  interdependent  elements:  the  data  infrastructures 
which store and manage data; the high-bandwidth networks which transport data; and the ever 
more powerful computers which can be used to process the data. The ability to analyse and 
exploit this Big Data is having an impact on the global economy and society, opening up the 
possibility of major industrial and social innovations. A key part of this impact is the change 
in the way scientific research is carried out, as we move rapidly towards Open Science.  

The Cloud makes it possible to move, share and re-use data seamlessly across global markets 
and  borders,  and  among  institutions  and  research  disciplines.  With  the  current  capacity 
available  in  Europe,  the  data  produced  by  EU  research  and  industry  is  often  processed 
elsewhere  and  European  researchers  and  innovators  tend  to  move  to  the  places  where  high 
data and computing capacity is more immediately available. At the same time, as Europe is 
the largest producer of scientific knowledge in the world, it is well placed to take the global 
lead in the developing of a science cloud. 
To  fully  exploit  the  potential  of  data  as  a  key  driver  of  Open  Science  and  the  4th  industrial 
revolution, Europe needs to answer several specific questions: 

  How to maximise the incentives for sharing data and to increase the capacity to exploit 

them?  

  How to ensure that data can be used as widely as possible, across scientific disciplines 

and between the public and the private sector? 

  How  better  to  interconnect  the  existing  and  the  new  data  infrastructures  across 

Europe? 

  How best to coordinate the support available to European data infrastructures as they 

move towards exascale computing1? 

The potential gains for science, technology, and innovation from addressing these challenges 
were  highlighted  by  the  scientific  community  itself,  but  also  by  OECD  Governments.  The 
importance for the whole economy and society of addressing these challenges was confirmed 
by  the  EU's  Member  States  in  2015.2  This  Communication  proposes  as  a  direct  response  a 
European  Cloud  Initiative  which  can  secure  Europe's  place  in  the  global  data-driven 
economy.3  

1  Exa-scale  computing  refers  to  computing  systems  capable  of  at  least  one  exaFLOPS  –  1018  calculations  per 

second – about 1.000 times faster than today's machines. 
2 See the Conclusions of the Competitiveness Council, 2015   
3 Speech of President Juncker on October 2015;  http://bit.ly/1Y52pGi 

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The  European  Cloud  Initiative  builds  on  the  Digital  Single  Market  (DSM)  Strategy,  which 
aims, inter alia, to maximise the growth potential of the European digital economy.4 It aims to 
develop a trusted, open environment for the scientific community for storing, sharing and re-
using scientific data and results, the European Open Science Cloud.5 It aims to deploy the 
underpinning  super-computing  capacity,  the  fast  connectivity  and  the  high-capacity  cloud 
solutions  they  need  via  a  European  Data  Infrastructure.6  Focussing  initially  on  the 
scientific  community,  the  user  base  will  be  expanded  to  the  public  sector  and  to  industry, 
creating  solutions  and  technologies  that  will  benefit  all  areas  of  the  economy  and  society. 
Achieving this will require a collaborative effort open to all those interested in exploiting the 
data revolution in Europe as an essential component of global growth. 
The  European  Cloud  Initiative  builds  on  the  achievements  of  the  European  Cloud Strategy7 
and the High Performance Computing (HPC) Strategy.8 It will build on initiatives such as the 
recently announced Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) on HPC and Big 
Data  enabled  applications.9  It  takes  forward  the  policy  developed  in  the  Communication  on 
Big Data10 and supports the European Open Science policy agenda which aims to increase the 
quality  and  impact  of  science,11  building  on  the  achievements  of  Open  Access.12  This 
Communication marks the beginning of a process whereby the Commission will engage with 
the Member States and with all relevant stakeholders to ensure the European Cloud Initiative 
can achieve its objectives.  

The  European  Cloud  Initiative  will  be  complemented  by  further  action  under  the  Digital 
Single  Market  strategy  covering  cloud  contracts  for  business  users  and  switching  of  cloud 
services providers, as well as by the Free Flow of Data initiative.13 

Five reasons why Europe is not yet fully tapping into the potential of data 

First, many European businesses, research communities and public bodies are yet to tap into 
the full potential of data and of its potentially transformative effect on traditional sectors and 
on  the  way  research  is  conducted.14  Data  coming  from  publicly  funded  research  is  not 
always open; likewise data generated or collected by businesses is often not shared, and not 
always for commercial reasons. While some still see data as an asset to be protected many in 
business (especially SMEs), academia and public sectors are simply unaware of the value of 
data  sharing.  Reasons  include  the  lack  of  a  clear  structure  of  incentives  and  rewards  for 

4 COM(2015) 192 final 
5 Preparatory work started through a Commission High Level Expert Group, tasked to issue advice on its set-up: 
http://bit.ly/1RK7lhh 
6 Preparatory work undertaken i.e. through advisory groups such as the e-infrastructures Reflection Group. 
7 COM(2012) 529 final and results of working groups http://bit.ly/1QVrvIb 
8 COM(2012) 45 final 
9  The  objective  is  to  support  the  development  of  new  industrial  uses  of  HPC  and  to  guarantee  access  to  HPC 

facilities for public and private research,  http://bit.ly/1RMFq0i 

10 COM(2014) 442 final 
11 Council policy debate (9385/15); Council Conclusions (8970/15) 
12 COM(2012) 401 final 
13  Possible  legislative  proposals  will  be  subject  to  Commission  better  regulation  requirements,  in  line  with 
Commission’s Better Regulation Guidelines, SWD(2015) 111 
14 This is the case in e.g. health http://bit.ly/1XEeaTN  (and ERC projects BIOTENSORS, DIOCLES, SMAC), 
astronomy (e.g. SparseAstro); climate change, migration or the Internet (e.g. DIADEM, MIGRANT, RAPID, 
THINKBIG). 

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data sharing (mainly in academia), of a clear legal basis15 (mainly in the public sector) and the 
shortage of data-related skills and lack of recognition of their value (in all sectors). The EU 
data protection framework prevents restrictions to the free movement of personal data on the 
grounds of privacy and personal data protection. Other legal and technical barriers to the free 
movement of data are yet to be tackled by the upcoming DSM initiative on the Free Flow of 
Data. 

Second,  lack  of  interoperability  prevents  addressing  grand  societal  challenges  that  require 
efficient data sharing and a multidisciplinary, multi-actor approach, e.g. climate change which 
cannot  be  addressed  by  climatologists  alone.  While  interoperability  and  data  sharing  have 
been tackled in some sectors (e.g. location of data by the INSPIRE Directive,16 health data by 
the  patients'  rights  Directive17)  many  data  sets  remain  unavailable  to  scientists,  industry, 
public  administrations  and  policy  makers.  While  interoperability  of  administrative  data 
mainly requires minimum standards, legal certainty in terms of access and usage and practical 
support,18  sharing research  data is  also  hampered  by  the  size  of  datasets,  its  varied  formats, 
the  complexity  of  the  software  needed  to  analyse  it  and  deep-rooted  walls  between 
disciplines. Simple 'meta-data'19 to identify data and specifications for data-sharing are needed 
to make them widely accessible and available to be processed through common, open source 
data analysis tools. Issues of long-term preservation and curation of data must also be tackled. 
There are already global grassroots initiatives20 and some Member States are advancing in this 
area but the European participation in these initiatives is limited and those efforts are largely 
fragmented. 
Third,  fragmentation  hampers  data-driven  science.21  Data  infrastructures  are  split  by 
scientific and economic domains, by countries and by governance models. Access policies for 
networking,  data  storage  and  computing  differ.  Disconnected  and  slow  data  and  computing 
infrastructures  hinder  scientific  discovery,  create  silos  and  slow  down  the  circulation  of 
knowledge.  Shareable  research  data,  open  data  analysis  tools  and  connected  computing 
facilities need to be available to the great majority of researchers22 in Europe, not only to top 
scientists  of  leading  disciplines  from  key  research  institutions.  Moreover,  Europe's 
universities  and  research  centres  generally  operate  within  national  structures  and  lack 
a European-scale  environment  for  computational,  storage  and  data  analysis.  This  makes 
scientific  cooperation  in  the  EU  more  difficult,  particularly  multi-disciplinary  cooperation 
based  on  data.23  In  a  recent  public  consultation,24  the  vast  majority  of  the  respondents 

15 The INSPIRE Directive 2007/2/EC provides an acquis for the sharing of European location data. However, the 
scope of the application of these laws is limited to specific data and services for environmental, natural disasters 
and health policies and not all obstacles with regard to data policies have been lifted effectively. 
16 Regulation 1089/2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC 
17  Work  on  the  eHealth  Network  set  up  under  Directive  2011/24  on  patients'  rights,  eHealth  Digital  Service 
Infrastructure ePrescription and Patient Summary services to exchange of health data and the recent Joint Action 
supporting the eHealth Network report on the "Use of cloud computing in health" to support use of data other 
than for the direct care of an individual patient. 
18 Tackled by the Commission's ISA Programme: http://bit.ly/24DxWUs 
19  This  may  include  high-quality  statistical  meta-data  from  official  statistics  to  enhance  data  browsability, 
interoperability and integration. 
20  Several  global  initiatives  address  this:  the  FAIR  data  principles,  the  G8  Principles  for  Open  Research  Data 
Science,  RDA  guidelines,  Belmont  Forum  recommendations,  OECD  principles  and  discipline-specific 
guidelines. 

21  Consultation  on  Science  2.0  flagged  the  lack  of  integration  of  existing  infrastructures  as  an  obstacle  for 

scientists' work. 

22  Researchers  are  either  unaware  (54  %)  or  do  not  have  a  facility  (37  %)  to  store  and  maintain  their  data 
(bit.ly/206u6hm). 
23 http://bit.ly/1SkL9wm 

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answered that the European Open Science Cloud would make science more efficient by better 
sharing of resources at national and international level. 

Fourth, there is surging demand in Europe for a world-class High Performance Computing 
(HPC)  infrastructure  to  process  data25  in  science  and  engineering.  The  simulation  of  a 
complete  next-generation  airplane;  climate  modelling; 
to  health; 
understanding  the  human  brain;  in  silico  testing  of  cosmetics  to  reduce  animal  testing  –  all 
need exascale computing capabilities. While in the long term, quantum computing holds the 
promise  to  solve  computational  problems  that  are  beyond  current  supercomputers,26  EU 
competitiveness also depends on the support of HPC for pan-European data infrastructures. 

linking  genome 

Worldwide,  the  USA,  China,  Japan,  Russia  and  India  are  advancing  swiftly.  They  have 
declared HPC a strategic priority, they fund programmes to develop national HPC ecosystems 
(hardware,  software,  applications,  skills,  services  and  interconnections)  and  work  on  the 
deployment of exascale supercomputers.27 Europe is not participating in the HPC race in line 
with  its  economic  and  knowledge  potential;  it  is  falling  behind  other  regions  as  it  fails  to 
invest in its HPC ecosystem and to reap the benefits of intellectual property in this field. On 
the  supply  side,  EU  industry  provides  about  5%  of  HPC  resources  worldwide,  while  it 
consumes  one  third  of  it.  As  Europe  depends  ever  more  on  other  regions  for  critical 
technology,  the  risk  is  that  it  gets  technologically  locked,  delayed  or  deprived  of  strategic 
know-how.  Europe  also  lags  in  terms  of  sheer  total  computing  power:  only  one  out  of  ten 
leading HPC infrastructures is in the EU, Germany's Höchstleistungsrechenzentrum Stuttgart 
ranking 8th. The USA has five and China has the fastest world supercomputer since 2013. 

No  single  Member  State  alone  has  the  financial  resources  to  develop  the  necessary  HPC 
ecosystem, in competitive time frames with respect to the US, Japan or China.28 However to 
date no common action is taken to bridge the gap between internal demand and EU supply.29 
The  EU  set  up  a  contractual  Public-Private  Partnership  on  HPC  to  develop  exascale 
technology,  but  there  is  no  European  framework  to  integrate  it  in  large  scale  computing 
systems.  

Finally, scientific data producers and users must be able to re-use data and to use advanced 
analytics  techniques,  such  as  text  and  data  mining,  in  an  environment  that  is  at  least  as 
dependable  as  their  own  facilities.  Member  States  have  made  strong  reference  to  the 
importance  of  EU  research  data  and  to  ensure  that  data-driven  science  benefits  European 
society.30  Any  use  and  re-use  of  scientific  data  needs  to  ensure  that  personal  data  are 
adequately  protected  according  to  the  EU  data  protection  rules.31  These  and  forthcoming 
revision of EU Copyright legislation32 provide general frameworks which are relevant in this 
context. 

24 http://bit.ly/1JEymCY 
25 Requests for computing cycles about double PRACE availability: http://bit.ly/1So2sgc 
26 SWD(2016) 107 
27 SWD(2016) 106 
28 The US Department of Defence will invest $525 Million for acquiring 3 pre-exa-scale systems in 2017/2018 

('CORAL'). Japan plans to invest $1.38 Billion to install a near-exa-scale system in 2019. 

29 While PRACE allows sharing computing resources of some Member States, the procurement of HPC systems 

is a national decision without EU coordination or funding. 

30 Council conclusions (8970/15). 
31 COM (2012) 9 final 
32 COM (2015) 626 final 

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What are the solutions? 

1.  European Open Science Cloud 

The  European  Open  Science  Cloud  aims  to  give  Europe  a  global  lead  in  scientific  data 
infrastructures, to ensure that European scientists reap the full benefits of data-driven science. 
Practically,  it  will  offer  1.7  million  European  researchers  and  70  million  professionals  in 
science and technology a virtual environment with free at the point of use, open and seamless 
services  for  storage,  management,  analysis  and  re-use  of  research  data,  across  borders  and 
scientific disciplines. Its development will be driven by the scientific community, who are the 
most advanced users and the largest producers of science in the world. The European Open 
Science Cloud will be also open for education and training purposes in higher education and, 
over time, to government and business users as the technologies developed will be promoted 
for wider application. 

The  European  Open  Science  Cloud  will  start  by  federating  existing  scientific  data 
infrastructures, today scattered across disciplines and Member States. This will make access 
to scientific data easier, cheaper and more efficient. It will enable the creation of new market 
opportunities  and  new  solutions  in  key  areas  such  as  health,  environment,  or  transport.  The 
European  Open  Science  Cloud  will  provide  a  secure  environment  where  privacy  and  data 
protection must be guaranteed by design, based on recognised standards, and where users can 
be confident concerning data security and liability risks. It will leverage other actions taken by 
the  Commission  to  promote  Open  Science  in  Europe,  such  as  open  access  to  scientific 
publications  and  data  in  Horizon  2020,  and  convene  key  stakeholders  to  co-design  the  next 
actions.  The  governance  of  the  European  Open  Science  Cloud  will  be  determined  upon 
conclusion of a thorough preparation process that is already under way. 

Specifically, to develop the European Open Science Cloud it will be necessary to: 

  Make  all  scientific  data  produced  by  the  Horizon  2020  Programme  open  by 
default.  This  will  extend  the  current  pilot,33  whereby  projects  implement  Data 
Management  Plans  to  make  research  data  findable,  accessible,  interoperable  and  re-
usable (FAIR principles).34 

  Raise awareness and change incentive structures for academics, industry and public 
services to share their data, and improve data management training, literacy and data 
stewardship skills. In parallel, principles and guidelines on access to research data in 
Europe35 will be reviewed to strengthen and coordinate their implementation. 

33 The Horizon 2020 Open Research Data Pilot currently covers :  Future and Emerging Technologies, Research 
infrastructures,  Information  and  Communication  Technologies,  the  ‘nanosafety’  and  ‘modelling’  topics  in  the 
Nanotechnologies,  Advanced  Materials,  Advanced  Manufacturing  and  Processing,  and  Biotechnology  WP, 
selected  topics  within  the  Societal  Challenges:  Food  security,  sustainable  agriculture  and  forestry,  marine  and 
maritime and inland water research and the bioeconomy; Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and 
Raw  materials  –  except  raw  materials;  Europe  in  a  changing  world  –  inclusive,  innovative  and  reflective 
Societies; Science with and for Society as well as the cross cutting activity and focus area Smart and Sustainable 
Cities. Note that projects that are not part of these "core areas" can still join on a voluntary basis. 
34 The existing opt-out options, where open access to data would be contrary to future commercial application or 
data  privacy  and  personal  data  protection,  security  and  protection  of  EU  classified  information  will  be 
maintained. The analysis of the pilot showed that most projects apply open data, but that opt-out options are also 
important. 
35 C(2012) 4890 final 

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  Develop specifications for interoperability and data sharing across disciplines and 
infrastructures, building on existing initiatives such as the Research Data Alliance and 
the Belmont Forum and legal provisions such as INSPIRE. Over time, any emerging 
standardization  needs  will  be  addressed  through  the  DSM  Priorities  for  ICT 
Standardisation. 

  Create a fit-for-purpose pan-European governance structure to federate scientific 
data infrastructures and overcome fragmentation. The institutional set-up will oversee 
long-term  funding,  sustainability,  data  preservation  and  stewardship.  It  will  build  on 
existing structures to involve scientific users, research funders and implementers.36 
  Develop  cloud-based  services  for  Open  Science.  Supported  by  the  European  Data 
Infrastructure, they will allow researchers to find and access shared research data, to 
employ  advanced  analytical  software,  to  use  high-performance  computing  resources 
and to learn about best data-driven science practices from leading disciplines. 

  Enlarge the scientific user base of the European Open Science Cloud to researchers 
and  innovators  from  all  disciplines  and  Member  States,  as  well  as  from  partner 
countries and global initiatives, so that they contribute to excellence and partake in the 
benefits of the initiative.37 

The initiative will reinforce other Open Science actions that the Council38 and the European 
Parliament39  called  for,  and  actions  in  the  context  of  the  forthcoming  Open  Science  policy 
agenda of the Commission. It will foster best practices of data findability and accessibility and 
help  researchers  get  their  data  skills  recognised  and  rewarded;  allow  easier  replicability  of 
results  and  limit  data  wastage  e.g.  of  clinical  trial  data  (research  integrity);  contribute  to 
clarification of the funding model for data generation and preservation, reducing rent-seeking 
and priming the market for innovative research services (e.g. advanced text and data mining). 
The initiative may also help address issues of data clearance and personal data protection.40 
The  Commission  will  consult  stakeholders  and  work  with  R&D  providers  on  the  need  for 
implementing  guidelines  for  the  scientific  domain  regarding  Union  policy  and  law  in  Data 
Protection,  and  on  the  need  to  ensure  that  the  initiative  implements  "by-design"  the  legal 
principles at the earliest possible stage. 

Actions  

The Commission will work with global policy and research partners to foster 
cooperation  and  to  create  a  level  playing  field  in  scientific  data  sharing  and 
data-driven science. 

Timeline 

As of 2016 

36  Such  as  ESFRI,  INSPIRE,  eIRG,  GEANT,  PRACE,  ELIXIR,  the  Belmont  Forum  and  similar  federating 

initiatives. 

37 New Commission initiatives may be financed under ESIF provided that the Member States agree to finance 
them and to modify their operational programmes accordingly. 
38 Council Conclusions (8970/15). 
39 European Parliament Report 2015/2147(INI). 
40  While  fully  respecting  Articles  7  and  8  of  the  Charter  of  Fundamental  Rights  of  the  European  Union  and 
current and forthcoming provisions on use of data for research purposes, the initiative may develop, for instance, 
services for IPR-conscious text and data mining, access control for different uses, irreversible anonymisation of 
sensitive data before data fusion, 'personal data spaces' to preserve privacy and foster uptake of innovative uses 
or rely on machine-readable licencing and privacy meta-data attached to data-sets accessible via the cloud and 
provide  guidelines  and  best  practices  for  compliant  organisational  processes  supporting  the  initiative.  While 
these  are  technical,  by-design  and  by  default  tools  and  processes,  they  may  help  reduce  the  incidence  of 
malpractice and reduce non-conformity with legal provisions. 

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The  Commission  will  use  the  Horizon  2020  Work  Programmes  to  provide 
funding  to  integrate  and  consolidate  e-infrastructure  platforms,  to  federate 
existing  research  infrastructures  and  scientific  clouds  and  to  support  the 
development of cloud-based services for Open Science. 

As of 2016 

The  Commission  will  make  open  research  data  the  default  option,  while 
ensuring opt-outs, for all new projects of the Horizon 2020 programme.  

As of 2017 

The  Commission  will  review  the  2012  Commission  Recommendation  on 
access  to  and  preservation  of  scientific  information41  to  encourage  scientific 
data  sharing  and  the  creation  of  incentive  schemes,  rewards  systems  and 
education  and  training  programmes  for  researchers  and  businesses  to  share 
data, in close relation with the DSM 'Free flow of data' initiative.  

As of 2017 

The  Commission  will  work  with  Member  States  to  connect  the  priority 
European research infrastructures42 to the European Open Science Cloud. 

As of 2017 

Together  with  stakeholders  and  relevant  global  initiatives,  the  Commission 
will work towards an Action Plan for scientific data interoperability, including 
'meta-data', specifications and certification. 

By 
2017 

end 

2.  European Data Infrastructure 

The  European  Data  Infrastructure,  once  fully  implemented,  will  underpin  the  European 
Open  Science  Cloud.  Europe  needs  integrated  world-class  HPC  capability,  high-speed 
connectivity and leading-edge data and software services43 for its scientists and for other lead 
users  from  industry  (including  SMEs)  and  the  public  sector.  This  infrastructure  will  allow 
fully  unlocking  the  value  of  Big  Data  and  digital  by  default.44  The  European  Data 
Infrastructure will also support the EU to rank among the world's top supercomputing powers 
by  realising  exascale  supercomputers  around  2022,  based  on  EU  technology,  which 
would  rank  in  the  first  3  places  of  the  world.  Europe  should  aim  to  have  at  least  two 
sources of this technology. 

While  the  existing  HPC  strategy45  supports  research  and  development  of  marketable  HPC 
technologies,  it  does  not  foresee  realising  an  exascale  supercomputer.  The  European  Data 
Infrastructure  will  gather  the  necessary  resources  and  capabilities,  to  close  the  chain  from 
research  and  development  to  the  delivery  and  operation  of  the  exascale  HPC  systems  co-
designed between users and suppliers. This will include data connectivity and big data storage 
to  make  sure  that  supercomputing  services  are  available  across  the  EU,  no  matter  where 
supercomputers are located. A first step was recently taken by Luxembourg, France, Italy and 
Spain,  with  an  Important  Project  of  Common  European  Interest  (IPCEI)  on  HPC  and 
Big Data enabled applications.46  

Building  on  the  Pan-European  High  Performance  Computing  infrastructure  and  services 

41 C(2012) 4890 final 
42 As identified by the European Strategic Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) http://bit.ly/1pfqOe7 
43 Including existing services by OpenAIRE, EUDAT, EGI, IndigoDataCloud, HelixNebula, PRACE, GÉANT. 
44  'Digital  by  default'  refers  to  services  and  processes  that  are  made  available  online  or  in  a  digital  form  by 

default. 

45 COM(2012) 45 final 
47 http://bit.ly/1QxERan 

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(PRACE),  the  trans-European  high  speed  network  (GÉANT),  the  contractual  Public-Private 
Partnership on HPC,47 the ECSEL Joint Undertaking,48 and the IPCEI on HPC and Big Data, 
the Commission and participating Member States will: 

 

 

foster an HPC ecosystem capable of developing new European technology such as low 
power HPC chips;49 

integrate technologies into system prototypes, co-designing50  solutions and procuring 
HPC systems; the resulting HPC infrastructure will focus on supercomputers of top-
range capabilities connected to mid-range EU national computing centres and to pan-
European data and software infrastructure to offer supercomputing as a service;  

  provide  seamless,  high-speed,  reliable  and  secure  connectivity  to  make  HPC 
accessible  across  the  EU;  the  trans-European  high  speed  network  (GÉANT)  and 
National  Research  and  Education  Networks  (NREN)  already  connect  50  million 
researchers and students; these infrastructures will be upgraded to match the increase 
of data volumes to be transferred and the extension of the user base. 

The European Data Infrastructure will contribute to the digitisation of industry, to develop 
European platforms for new, strategic applications (e.g. medical research, aerospace, energy) 
and  to  foster  industrial  innovation.  It  will  widen  the  user  base  of  HPC,  providing  easier 
access  via  the  Cloud  both  to  researchers  in  key  scientific  disciplines  and  to  the  long  tail  of 
science. Industry, particularly SMEs without in-house capabilities and public authorities (e.g. 
smart  cities  and  transport)  will  benefit  from  cloud-based  and  easy-to-use  HPC  resources, 
applications and analytics tools.51 In this context, the Commission will foster the deployment 
of  processing  and  exploitation  capacities  for  Sentinel  satellites'  data,  Copernicus  services 
information  and  other  Earth  Observation  data,  so  as  to  enable  the  cross-fertilisation  of 
different  data  sets,  encourage  the  development  of  innovative  products  and  services  and 
maximise the socio economic benefits of Earth Observation data in Europe. 

The  European  Data  Infrastructure  will  work  in  combination  with  the  national  and  regional, 
scientific  and  public  data  centres.  It  will  develop  and  implement  best  practices  based  on 
certification schemes,  common European  and global  standards and  specifications52 to  tackle 
the current lack of interoperability between national and disciplinary data centres.53 

The European Data Infrastructure will include a governance structure for the management and 
the development of the data infrastructure and services,54 decision making on funding, long-
term  sustainability  and  security.  The  governance  should  involve  users  (the  European  Open 

47 http://bit.ly/1WZH8wF 
48 http://www.ecsel-ju.eu 
49 Energy efficient exa-scale machines would impact the full spectrum of computing and bring Europe technical, 
economic and social advantages. Currently, a single exa-scale machine would need a dedicated power plant of 
700MW to operate, enough to power 140.000 households for a year. Thus the need for low power chips. 
50 Co-design is an approach to design aiming to actively involve customers and users in the design process to 

help ensure the result meets their needs and is usable. 

51 http://bit.ly/1pqny20 
52 RDA-Europe has started the interaction with the ICT standardisation multi stakeholder group to submit best 

practice implementations for data infrastructure interoperability developed in the Research Data Alliance. 

53 Such as INSPIRE interoperable spatial data and services specifications. 
54  Building  on  existing  services  by  OpenAIRE,  EUDAT,  EGI,  IndigoDataCloud,  HelixNebula,  PRACE, 

GÉANT. 

9 

 
 
                                                            
Science Cloud and other long-term users such as the public sector), implementers (PRACE, 
GEANT) and funders, and should build on existing governance structures. 

Actions 

acquisition  of 

The  Commission  and  participating  Member  States  should  develop  and 
deploy  a  large  scale  European  HPC,  data  and  network  infrastructure, 
including: 
 
exascale 
the 
supercomputers and two operational systems which will rank in the 
top three of the world; 
the establishment of a European Big Data centre,55 
the  upgrade  of  the  backbone  network  for  research  and  innovation 
(GEANT) and the integration of European public services networks. 

co-designed,  prototype 

 
 

two 

Timeline 

2016-2020 

as of 2018 

as of 2016 

as of 2016 

Exploiting the potential of quantum technologies 

The next breakthrough in supercomputing and secure networking may be based on quantum 
technologies. Leading companies in Europe,  Asia-Pacific  and North  America are starting to 
invest in quantum, but a higher level of investment is necessary to reach marketable products. 
Europe has to be at the forefront of these future advances.56 The European Data Infrastructure 
should  be  complemented  by  an  ambitious,  long-term  and  large-scale  flagship  initiative  to 
unlock  the  full  potential  of  quantum  technologies,  accelerate  their  development  and  bring 
commercial  products  to  public  and  private  users.  The  European  Commission  will  start  the 
preparatory steps for the flagship, including consultation of stakeholders, impact assessment, 
taking into account results of the interim evaluation of the Horizon 2020 Programme by the 
end of 2017.57 

Action 

The European Commission will start the preparatory steps for the flagship, 
including  consultation  of  stakeholders,  impact  assessment,58  taking  into 
account results of the interim evaluation of the Horizon 2020 Programme by 
the end of 2017,59 with the aim to launch the ramp up phase in 2018.60 

Timeline 

2016-2019 

3.  Widening access and building trust 

The uptake of cloud services in the public sector is uneven and slow.61 This is due to lack of 
trust  and  limited  synergies  between  the  public  sector  and  the  academia.  Fragmentation  in 
terms  of  data  infrastructures is an  obstacle  for building  critical  mass  and  common  solutions 
for different user groups. The user base of the European Open Science Cloud and of the 

55 E.g. hosted by JRC for multidisciplinary data but focused on INSPIRE/GEOSS/Copernicus spatial data. 
56 https://goo.gl/zBVi8N 
57 SWD(2016) 107 
58 The impact assessment will be part of the preparatory process for relevant funding programmes under the post 
2020  financial  perspective.  Any  additional  implementation  measure  likely  to  have  significant  impacts  may 
require separate, individual impact assessments. 
59 SWD(2016) 107 
60 FET Flagships as described in Horizon 2020 reference documents. 
61 SMART 2013/0043: Public sector organisations trail the private sector, with a 10% difference in 2013 in the 

use of cloud computing services. 

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European Data Infrastructure will be widened to the public sector, for example through 
involving  eGovernment62  and  public  sector  stakeholders  and  by 
large-scale  pilots 
progressively  opening  the  European  Data  Infrastructure  to  users  from  industry  and  the 
public sector to achieve a European dimension. Over time, the European Open Science Cloud 
will  ensure  that  public  data  is  fully  discoverable,  accessible  and  exploitable  by  scientists, 
policy makers and businesses. Lessons learnt will provide concrete guidance for the adoption 
of cloud-based services by public administrations across Europe. 

As  the  public  sector  generates  massive  amounts  of  data  (e.g.  Copernicus  earth  observation, 
INSPIRE  location  data)  and  needs  larger  computing  capacity  (e.g.  for  real  time  traffic  and 
travel information systems, for smart city applications or for policy modelling), it will benefit 
from economies of scale, flexibility and continuity. The public will thus benefit from cheaper, 
faster,  better  and  interconnected  public  services  and  from  better  policy  making  based  on 
affordable and secure compute- and data-intensive services.  

In  similar  fashion,  the  European  Open  Science  Cloud  and  the  European  Data  Infrastructure 
will  benefit  businesses,  including  SMEs,  that  lack  cost-effective  and  easy  access  to  data 
storage, services and advanced computing. Actions will be taken to progressively widen the 
user base to innovative SMEs and industry, via data and software centres of excellence and 
data services innovation hubs for SMEs. These actions will require close cooperation with the 
private  sector:  SMEs,  large  scientific  and  industrial  users  of  HPC  and  the  Cloud  services 
industry, who needs to be involved from the start. 

Additionally,  the  European  Cloud  Initiative  will  need  to  meet  high  standards  of  quality, 
reliability and confidentiality, to ensure protection of personal data and intellectual property, 
and security – in terms of resilience and protection against intrusion. Existing public sector 
facilities - notably the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Digital Service Infrastructure (DSI) 
building  blocks  related  to  trust  and  security  -  can  be  reused  and  deployed  by  the  scientific 
community for cost savings, ease of access, and overall consistency. The general framework 
will be provided by the general data protection rules, the NIS Directive63 and the revision of 
the EU copyright legislation. Given the global nature of cloud computing, it is essential that 
the  European  data  economy  remains  connected  to  the  rest  of  the  world  and  that  the  global 
standards of data protection are raised to a high level essentially equivalent to that in Europe. 

Working  on  appropriate  standards  is  part  of  the  DSM  Priorities  for  ICT  Standardisation 
Plan64; a suitable certification scheme will be designed at EU level to guarantee security, data 
portability,  and  interoperability  in  compliance  with  legal  requirements,65  including  the 
certification scheme already provided for in General Data Protection Regulation for personal 
data  security.  While  a  number  of  certification  schemes66  exist,  their  scope  and  application 
vary  considerably,  and  there  is  no  common  approach  on  minimum  requirements  in  the 
procurement  or  management  of  public  sector  cloud  resources.  In  this  respect,  collaboration 
with  industry  and  public  authorities  will  match  the  capability  of  industry  with  the 
requirements of science and the public sector. 

62 EU eGovernment Action Plan  2016-2020 – accelerating the digital transformation of government 
63 COM (2013) 48 
64 COM(2016) 176 
65 Regulation 765/2008 
66 https://resilience.enisa.europa.eu/cloud-computing-certification 

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Widening  of  access  to  the  European  Open  Science  Cloud  and  European  Data  Infrastructure 
will be carried out in line with the appropriate legislation, in particular for what concerns the 
re-use of data for other purposes.  

Actions 

In  partnership  with  industry  and  the  public  sector,  the  Commission 
undertakes to: 

-  adapt HPC and Big Data solutions to a cloud environment in order 

to enable broad access, notably for SMEs; 

-  develop  an  ecosystem  to  strengthen  the  cloud  industry  in  Europe, 
using the European Open Science Cloud as a testbed for innovative 
cloud technology solutions; 

-  create  a  platform  for  public  authorities  to  open  their  data  and 
services, creating a "Government as a Service" (GaaS) base for the 
EU. 

In  order  to  facilitate  the  uptake  of  big  data  technologies,  the  Commission 
will  provide  a  big  data  test  environment  (large-scale  pilots)  for  public 
administrations, including in the framework of the proposed IPCEI. 
The  Commission  working  with  industry  and  Member  States  will  promote 
the  use  of  existing  relevant  certifications  and  standards,  and  –  where 
appropriate  –  the  creation  of  European-level  certification  and  labelling,  in 
particular to support public procurement of cloud services. 

Timeline 

2016-20 

As of 2016 

As of 2016  

Financial implications 

Digital  transformation  in  Europe  requires  scale.  Various  sources  of  EU  financing  can  be 
identified for the European Cloud Initiative: 

  Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (Horizon 2020) 

  Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) 

  European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) 

  European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) 

Different  sources  of  financing  are  necessary  to  support  the  full  investment  cycle.  Large 
infrastructure  projects  are  supported  initially  by  public  grants  and,  as  they  mature,  by  risk-
sharing and market-based instruments. However, since such initiatives require consistent and 
coordinated efforts, the fragmentation of available budget sources is clearly a drawback. 

Existing funding under Horizon 2020 will allow to support the European Open Science Cloud 
and to kick-start the European Data Infrastructure. Initial estimation of the required additional 
public  and  private  investment  is  €4.7  billion  in  the  period  of  5  years.  This  includes  €3.5 
billion for data infrastructure,67 €1 billion for a large-scale EU-wide Quantum Technologies 
flagship  and  €0.2  billion  for  actions  on  widening  access  and  building  trust.  Additional 
provisions will be discussed with Member States for enlarging support to the European Open 
Science Cloud beyond Horizon 2020. The initiative will over time generate revenue of its own 
as its use by the scientific community, innovative start-ups and the public sector takes off.  

67 SWD(2016) 106 

12 

 
 
 
                                                            
The Commission intends to propose how the different sources of financing at EU and national 
level could be blended in order to realise the objectives of the present Communication in full; 
it will discuss them with the Member States following appropriate evaluation, assessments of 
impacts  and  consultation.  Infrastructure  of  this  level  of  ambition  will  require  strong 
involvement  of  the  Member  States,  in  particular  by  leveraging  structural  funds  and  EFSI68 
guarantees,  but  also  significant  investments  from  the  private  sector  and  appropriate 
coordinating  mechanisms.  In  this  respect,  the  proposed  Important  Project  of  Common 
European  Interest  (IPCEI)  on  HPC  and  Big  Data  shows  the  possibilities  and  the  positive 
effects of Member States' engagement. 

Actions 

In cooperation with Member States and stakeholders, the Commission will 
explore  appropriate  governance  and  financing  mechanisms  for  the  Open 
Science  Cloud  and  the  European  Data  Infrastructure  and  define  an 
implementation Roadmap. 
The Commission will put forward approaches for blending different funding 
streams,  for  discussion  with  Member  States  and  stakeholders,  in  order  to 
realise the objectives of this Communication. 

Timeline 

As of 2016 

2016 

CONCLUSIONS 

The European Cloud Initiative is designed to help science, industry and public authorities in 
Europe  access  world-class  data  infrastructures  and  cloud-based  services  as  they  become  the 
decisive factors for success in the digital economy.  

A  European  Cloud  Initiative  should  open  up  to  every  research  centre,  every  research 
project  and  every  researcher  in  Europe  the  world-class  supercomputing,  data  storage 
and  analysis  capacity  which  they  need  to  succeed  in  the  global,  data-driven  innovation 
system.  

The Initiative will make it possible to widen the user-base of the infrastructures and services 
to  the  public  sector  and  to  industry,  including  SMEs,  guaranteeing  an  adequate  level  of 
security, data portability, interoperability as well as compliance with EU legal requirements.  

The extent to which the Member States and private sector embrace the gains to be made from 
addressing this challenge, and commit to working together to address them will determine the 
success of the initiative.  

68 Advisory services of EIB under the European Investment Advisory Hub will also be involved. 

13