COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT Accompanying the document Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the re-use of public sector information
Date: 2018-04-25
Institutions: Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, European Commission
Subjects: access to information, copyright, data collection, dissemination of information, domestic market, information, information service, public sector, right to reuse information

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  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 25.4.2018  SWD(2018) 128 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT  Accompanying the document Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the re-use of public sector information {COM(2018) 234 final}  - {SWD(2018) 127 final}   
 
 
Impact assessment on the review of Directive 2003/98/EC on the re-use of public sector information1 

Executive Summary Sheet 

A. Need for action 

Why is there a need for action? What is the problem?  
Public  sector  bodies  hold  vast  amounts  of  data  known  as  public  sector  information  (PSI),  e.g.  legal  data,  traffic  data, 
meteorological  data,  economic  and  financial  data.  Allowing  this  data  to  be  re-used  for  other  purposes,  including 
commercial ones (e.g. for satellite navigation services, weather apps etc.) can stimulate economic growth, spur innovation 
and help to address various societal problems, e.g. in healthcare or public transport. 

Directive 2003/98/EC on the re-use of public sector information (the PSI Directive) created a basic legal framework for re-
using  PSI  in  the  single  market  by  imposing  certain  obligations  on  public  sector  bodies.  In  line  with  Article 13  (review 
clause)  of  the  Directive,  and  following  up  on  the  commitment  made  in  the  mid-term  review  of  the  Digital  Single  Market 
Strategy, this impact assessment includes an evaluation of the implementation of the current version of the Directive and 
sets out policy options needed to address four problem areas: 

1.  Dynamic  data:  The  provision  of  real-time  access  to  data  held  by  public  sector  bodies,  in  particular  dynamic  data, 
using  adequate  technical  means  (application  programming  interfaces  /  APIs)  is  rare.  This  means  that  dynamic  data 
often cannot be re-used to develop new products and services such as real-time travel apps. 

2.  Charging: Several public sector bodies continue to overcharge for the re-use of public sector data — well above what 
is needed to cover reproduction and dissemination costs. Such charges are counterproductive from a macroeconomic 
perspective as they constitute a market barrier for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). As a result, charges 
tend  to  strengthen  large  multinational  platforms,  to  the  detriment  of  SMEs  —  they  cannot  afford  to  purchase  public 
data. Evidence shows that getting rid of charges typically results in a surge in demand for public sector data, which 
translates into more innovation, more business growth and ultimately higher budget revenues (via taxes) for the public 
sector. 

3.  Scope of the PSI Directive: Data generated by the utilities and transport sectors is valuable and has tremendous re-
use  potential.  However,  entities  active  in  these  sectors  are  not  covered  by  the  PSI  Directive.  The  same  is  true  for 
research data resulting from public funding, which is another valuable source of data. 

4.  Lock-in  of  public  sector  data:  Public  data  holders  sometimes  enter  into  arrangements  with  the  private  sector  to 
derive  extra  value  from  their  data.  This  creates  the  risk  of  excessive  first-mover  advantage,  benefitting  large 
companies and thereby limiting the number of potential re-users of the data in question.  

What is this initiative expected to achieve?  
The  overall  aim  of  this  initiative  is  to  enhance  the  already  positive  effect  of  the  PSI  Directive.  This  will  be  done  by 
strengthening  specific  provisions  and  bringing  them  up-to-date  in  order  to  increase  the  amount  of  public  sector  data 
available for re-use. In particular, the initiative will strengthen the position of SMEs in the data market by ensuring that they 
are not faced with market barriers that prevent them from re-using public data for commercial purposes. 

What is the value added of action at EU level?  

Measures at EU level are necessary to guarantee comparable conditions of data supply and ensure that they are suitable 
for further re-use. Public data with a comparable thematic scope should be made consistently available for re-use across 
Member  States  to  make  it  easier  to  develop  services  and  products  based  on  data  sourced  from  different  EU  countries 
under similar conditions. 
The  proposed  changes  will  create  further  incentives  for  businesses  to  use  the  scale  of  the  single  market  in  order  to 
produce information products and services that cover different countries. At the same time, the changes will ensure that 
commercial re-users of different sizes and investment capacities will have similar opportunities in terms of access to public 
data. 

What  legislative  and  non-legislative  policy  options  have  been  considered?  Is  there  a  preferred  choice  or 
not? Why?  
A number of policy options have been considered, both legislative and non-legislative. Some options were rejected at an 
early  stage,  while  the  options  retained  for  an  in-depth  assessment  were  two  packages  of  legislative  and  non-legislative 

B. Solutions 

1 SWD(2018) 127. 

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measures — one consisting of measures of higher intensity, and one of lower intensity measures. 
The preferred choice is the package with a lower intensity of intervention, based on the following elements: 

•  Dynamic data/APIs: A ‘soft’ obligation for Member States to make dynamic data available in a timely manner and 
to  introduce  APIs.  For  a  limited  number  of  fundamental  high-value  datasets  (to  be  adopted  by  means  of  a 
Delegated Act), there will be a hard obligation to do so. 

•  Charging: Tighten the rules for invoking the exceptions to the general rule whereby public sector bodies cannot 
charge more than marginal costs for dissemination. Create a list of fundamental high-value datasets that should 
be freely available in all Member States (same datasets as above, to be adopted by means of a Delegated Act). 
•  Data  in  the  transport  and  utilities  sectors:  Only  public  undertakings  will  be  covered,  and  a  limited  set  of 
obligations will apply. Public undertakings can charge prices higher than marginal costs for dissemination and are 
under  no  obligation  to  release  data.  If  they  do  release  data,  they  will  be  covered  by  transparency,  non-
discrimination and non-exclusivity requirements. 

•  Research data: Member States will be obliged to develop policies for open access to research data resulting from 
publicly  funded  research.  However,  they  will  be  free  to  decide  on  how  to  implement  these  policies.  The  PSI 
Directive  will  also  cover  research  data  that  has  already  been  made  accessible  as  a  result  of  open  access 
mandates, focusing on re-usability aspects. 

•  Non-exclusivity:  Transparency  requirements  for  public-private  agreements  involving  public  sector  information 

(prior check, possibly by national competition authorities, and openness of the actual agreement). 

These  measures  will  be  combined  with  an  update  of  the  recommendation  on  access  to  and  preservation  of  scientific 
information2 and clarification of the interaction between the PSI Directive and the Database and INSPIRE Directives. 
Who supports which option?  
The PSI Directive broadly affects two sets of stakeholders: public sector bodies on the one hand and re-users on the other. 
Given  the  proposed  extension  of  the  scope  of  the  Directive,  the  first  group  will  also  include  public  research  bodies  and 
public undertakings from the transport and utility sectors.  
The group of re-users includes commercial entities (in particular many SMEs) and non-commercial entities (researchers, 
individuals) that re-use data generated by the public sector. As the main addressee of the proposed measures, the public 
sector would be more supportive of maintaining the status quo or the lower-intensity intervention. Many re-users, on the 
other  hand,  would  favour  more  far-reaching  changes  (higher-intensity  scenario).  In  the  area  of  research,  legislative 
intervention is likely to be supported by re-users as it is fully in line with policy developments in the areas of open access 
and open science. 
It should be noted that while the Directive places obligations only on the public sector, it creates economic benefits across 
the board — both for re-users and the public sector itself. 

C. Impacts of the preferred option 

What are the benefits of the preferred option (if any, otherwise the main ones)?  
The changes proposed in the preferred option will make a real difference by making more data more available for re-use 
by businesses (especially SMEs), governments, researchers and individuals. Re-use of public sector data will be cheaper, 
and some data that is already available (research data) will be easier to re-use. At the same time, the preferred option has 
a realistic level of ambition that would be acceptable for the stakeholders and Member States. In general, the measures of 
the  preferred  option  will  lead  to  significantly  higher  economic  value  and  job  creation  compared  to  the  baseline  scenario 
(30 % more direct economic value and 40 % more jobs than in the baseline scenario). 

What are the costs of the preferred option (if any, otherwise the main ones)?  
The costs associated with the preferred option are mainly related to the necessary update to the digital infrastructure of the 
public sector. This is needed to enable efficient dissemination of data, in particular dynamic data. The key element is the 
cost of implementing and maintaining APIs, which make it easier for re-users to access dynamic data. Some other costs 
will be initially borne by a limited number of public sector bodies that still charge for data. They will lose some revenue — 
in certain cases, they will no longer be able to continue charging for the re-use of their data. Finally, there will be some 
legal  and/or  administrative  costs  linked  to  the  new  requirements  for  public  undertakings  and  research  establishments. 
However, all these costs will be offset by the benefits that will affect the whole economy, including the public sector bodies 
themselves, thanks to increased efficiency and extra budget revenue generated by taxation. 

How will businesses, SMEs and micro-enterprises be affected? 
SMEs and businesses are the main beneficiaries of the preferred option. Studies show that the bulk of commercial re-use 
of public data is carried out by start-ups and companies that employ fewer than 10 people. A stronger supply of data that is 
cheaper and easier to re-use will enable more data-based innovation across all economic sectors, with SMEs and micro-

2 C(2018) 2375. 

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enterprises benefiting the most from lower barriers to access public sector data.  

Will there be a significant impact on national budgets and administrations?  
This intervention will enhance the ongoing process of opening up public sector data. In the short term, it will create limited 
compliance  costs  for  public  administrations.  However,  in  the  long  run  it  will  increase  cost  savings  thanks  to  increased 
efficiency and will generate additional government revenue.  

Will there be other significant impacts?  
Apart from the overall estimated economic benefits of opening up public sector data, the preferred option is also expected 
to significantly increase the current societal impact of the re-use of public sector information. 

D. Follow-up 

When will the policy be reviewed?  
The  policy  will  be  monitored  on  an  annual  basis  thanks  to  the  ‘landscaping’  exercise  carried  out  by  the  European  Data 
Portal. This will lead to the publication of Open Data Maturity Reports. The review clause of the Directive will be modified 
to allow for the next evaluation 6 years after the adoption date of the amending Directive. 

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