COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Creation of a common European mobility data space
Date: 2023-11-29
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: access to information, common transport policy, data processing, data transmission, digital single market, exchange of information, sustainable mobility, systems interconnection

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 29.11.2023  COM(2023) 751 final  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Creation of a common European mobility data space  
 
 
1.  Introduction 

Mobility  and  transport  are  a  key  enabler  of  our  economic  and  social  life,  whether  it 
involves  daily  commuting  to  work;  visiting  family  and  friends;  tourism;  or  the  proper 
functioning of global supply chains for the goods in our shops or for our industrial production 
and e-commerce. Free movement of people and goods across the European Union’s internal 
borders is a fundamental freedom of the EU and its single market. As the second-largest area 
of expenditure for EU households, the transport sector accounts for 5% of EU GDP and 
directly employs around 10 million workers 1.  

As noted in the Commission’s Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy (SSMS) 2, the EU 
needs  to  quickly  advance  towards  a  sustainable,  smart  and  inclusive  mobility  and  transport 
sector. Decarbonisation and digitalisation are the key drivers of this transition, establishing a 
truly  efficient  and  interconnected  multimodal  transport  system  for  both  passengers  and 
freight,  thereby  meeting  the  need  to  fully  contribute  to  the  transition  to  a  climate-neutral 
economy as part of the European Green Deal 3 and A Europe fit for the digital age 4 goals. 

With the European strategy for data 5 and the Commission Staff Working Document on 
Common European Data Spaces  6, the Commission has proposed the creation of EU-wide 
common, interoperable data spaces in strategic sectors, including mobility and transport. Data-
driven innovation can make an enormous contribution to mobility services in the EU that can 
lead  to  better  use  of  transport  systems  and  much  more  efficient  multimodal  mobility,  thus 
serving  the  further  development  of  an  interconnected,  climate-neutral  and  competitive  EU 
transport  sector7.  However,  while  a  lot  of  relevant  data  is  generated  (often  driven  by 
requirements  under  the  EU  transport  acquis)  the  transport  and  mobility  data  landscape  is 
fragmented into different ecosystems and accessibility is often difficult. This fragmentation 
needs  to  be  urgently  addressed  so  that  the  EU  can  successfully  harness  the  benefits  of 
digitalisation in the mobility and transport sector. 

In this context, the strategy includes a common European mobility data space (EMDS) that 
should facilitate the access, pooling and sharing of data from existing and future transport and 
mobility data sources. The goal is to overcome technical and legal barriers and to ensure trusted 
and  secure  data-sharing  by  combining  data-governance  frameworks  and  technical 
infrastructures while using common design principles wherever possible. By strengthening 
trust  and  security  in  data  transactions  and  adhering  to  the  highest  available  cybersecurity 
standards, the EMDS should contribute to ensuring a high level of cybersecurity and cyber-
resilience in the mobility and transport sector. 

The EMDS will help market actors and public authorities to find, access and use relevant data 
more easily. It will support the shift to sustainable and smart mobility, enabling more efficient 

1 COM(2020) 789 final 
2 COM(2020) 789 final  
3 COM(2019) 640 final  
4 A Europe fit for the digital age (europa.eu) 
5 COM(2020) 66 final 
6 SWD(2022) 45 final, Commission Staff Working Document on Common European Data Spaces  
7 leading also to reduction of transport-related air and noise emissions 

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transport and mobility services and thus reducing emissions and directly contributing to the 
European Green Deal goals. 

Improving  our  approach  to  sharing  relevant  mobility  and  transport  data  can  significantly 
benefit  Member  States  and  all  relevant  public  authorities,  including  by  enhancing 
transport policy-making through data-based decision-making and targeted implementation. 
It  can  help  boost  cross-border  connectivity,  thus  fostering  better  cooperation  between 
Member States, facilitating seamless travel and trade within the EU and thereby contributing 
to  increased economic growth. Simplified access  to  comprehensive mobility and transport 
data can help Member States make better-informed decisions about infrastructure development 
and transportation planning, thus leading to more efficient and optimised systems. 

Similarly, market actors can benefit from new business and innovation opportunities to 
develop innovative transportation services and technologies. Collaboration through simplified 
data access and sharing facilitates the formation of partnerships and the integration of services 
into  broader  mobility  ecosystems.  Increased  data-sharing  also  improves  coordination 
between  private  and  public  actors.  Small  and  medium-sized  enterprises  (SMEs)  could 
particularly benefit from this. Additionally, advances in data-sharing can allow private actors 
to  optimise  their  operations  and  resource  allocation  with  real-time  information,  resulting  in 
more efficient and cost-effective operations.  

Research  will  also  benefit  because  the  EMDS  will  improve  understanding  of  the  complex 
interactions of transport systems and promote innovation in cross-sectoral data handling. The 
EMDS will also encourage the use of artificial intelligence to enhance mobility and transport 
services, particularly as data volumes and potential synergies increase exponentially. A well-
functioning common EMDS could also become a means to enhance data exchange with non-
EU countries and thus help the integration of traffic coming from outside the EU into the EU 
transport system and fostering trade across our external borders.  

It  is  ultimately  the  passengers,  commuters  and  travellers  who  will  benefit,  through  an 
improved  travel  experience  with  more  efficient  transportation  systems  and  reduced  travel 
times.  Access  to  real-time  data  enables  them  to  stay  informed  of  the  public  transportation 
situation, infrastructure accessibility, traffic conditions and potential delays, and thus allows 
them  to  plan  their  journeys  better.  Many  service  providers  and  public  authorities  already 
offer  real-time  updates,  but  more  comprehensive  data-sharing  would  raise  the  quality  of 
services  and  facilitate  more  system  integration,  multimodality,  road  safety  and 
sustainability.  

This communication outlines the Commission’s proposed way forward for the creation of a 
common  EMDS,  including  its  objectives,  main  components,  supporting  measures  and 
milestones. The Commission is seeking to promote the exchange of information on this topic, 
as well as collaboration more generally. It invites all relevant actors to take note of the measures 
set out in this communication. 

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2.  Relevance and demand for a common European mobility data space 

2.1.  Context, role and objectives 

Currently, data sources and the ways in which data are exchanged are deeply fragmented in 
the different transport modes and the related businesses. There is also fragmentation between 
different Member States and within Member States at different levels (national, regional and 
local) for both the public and private sectors. This fragmentation hinders the free flow of data 
(and, more broadly, of people, goods and services) within the EU’s single market. It also makes 
it difficult for users (individuals and service providers) to understand where and how to access 
and share data, which conditions for reuse apply and whom they should contact if they have 
questions or issues with data. These barriers hinder the reaping of the benefits of digitalisation 
in transport, and also the creation of a level playing field for the provision of digital mobility 
and transport services in the EU.  

In this context the objectives of the EMDS are to:  

1)  identify crucial data and increase their availability to support essential and value-

added services covering themes from sustainability to multimodality; 

2)  help users discover available data sources, by providing tools so that the user can 
also understand the quality of data and related access and reuse conditions, notably in 
connection with the protection of personal data; 

3)  facilitate data access, sharing and reuse, where possible, through modal and cross-
modal harmonisation of sharing conditions in a fair, transparent, proportionate and non-
discriminatory manner; 

4)  enable  technical,  organisational,  semantic  and  legal  interoperability  for  data 

access, reuse and data-sharing between actors (both public and private); 

5)  optimise data-collection and reduce administrative burden by identifying gaps and 
overlaps  in  existing  data-collection  arrangements  and  recommending  appropriate 
adjustments in sectoral legislation; 

6)  ensure interoperability with other common European data spaces and allow data- 
access, sharing and reuse among them, in line with new and emerging EU data-related 
legislation. 

The  intention  is  not  to  create  one  vast  centralised  database  or  a  single  hardware 
infrastructure that will host all of the EU’s mobility and transport data through this initiative. 
The EMDS will instead offer a framework for interlinking and federating 8 many different 
transport-data ecosystems that are heterogeneous and often difficult to discover or access. The 
EMDS will be based on a decentralised approach, whereby data will continue to be maintained 
with data space participants or in the domains and databases that are already governed by public 
or private stakeholders at EU, national, regional and local level. The EMDS will be guided by 
the design principles listed in the Commission Staff Working Document on Common European 

8 ‘Federation of data spaces: The organisation of two or more data spaces that have agreed upon standards for 
harmonised  operation,  under  a  common  governance  framework  to  realise  mutual  synergies  to  realise  mutual 
synergies.  Although  operating  autonomously  and  with  possible  different  internal  architectures,  the  goal  is  to 
jointly operate as a single and harmonised ecosystem towards participants.’; Preparatory Actions for the Data 
Space for Mobility, Deliverable D3.1 (Glossary), 2023 p, 13. 

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Data Spaces and it will be fully compliant with the EU transport acquis, its spirit and purpose, 
and it will be built on it. 

The EMDS framework will have technical and governance dimensions that will include 
building blocks 9, standards, an interlinking layer and a governance structure. Further details 
of the EMDS framework are explained in Section 4.  

The  participants  in  the  EMDS  will  be  data-providers  and  data-users  (including  data-
intermediaries 10 and data-altruism organisations11), as well as relevant marketplaces and 
service  providers  that  want  to  create  value  by  offering,  discovering,  accessing  and  using 
mobility and transport data across this vast range of ecosystems. 

2.2.  Value-added use cases and their benefits 

The  EMDS  should  enable  improved,  faster  and  more  streamlined  cross-border  and  cross-
sectoral  data  access  and  sharing,  thereby  supporting  the  provision  of  EU-wide  added  value 
services. The territorial aspects of mobility should also be considered taking into account the 
rural community as well as the interconnection between urban and rural mobility. Better data 
descriptions (e.g. with improved metadata) and increased interoperability between different 
ecosystems (e.g. for data discovery and sharing) should make it easier and quicker for every 
EMDS participant to aggregate data from different sources; to use this data for their operations; 
and  to  deliver  high-quality  services  to  businesses,  consumers  and  citizens.  It  could  provide 
opportunities for developing new statistical indicators with higher level of disaggregation and 
with enhanced timelines, without increasing reporting burden. The use of EMDS for statistics 
is the intermediate step for using the available microdata in evidence-based analysis for policy 
making at national and EU level, alongside existing statistics. The EMDS will also facilitate 
data-sharing  in  a  peer-to-peer  (e.g.  business-to-business,  business-to-government,  etc.) 
relationship.  This  should  gradually  enable  more  innovative  mobility  services  and  complex 
transactions in the transport sector.  

The following are examples of such value-added use cases and their benefits: 

How EMDS could 
contribute to: 
Urban and rural 
mobility 

Benefits and beneficiaries 

•  Enabling local authorities (both urban and rural) to identify 
well-targeted  measures  within  their  sustainable  (urban) 

9  ‘Data  space  building block:  A  basic  unit  or  component  that  can  be  implemented  or  a  capability  that  can  be 
deployed and combined with other building blocks to achieve the functionality of a data space. Data space building 
blocks  can  be  divided  into  organisational  and  business  building  blocks  and  technical  building  blocks.’; 
https://dssc.eu/space/Glossary/176554169/10.+DSSC-specific+terms 
10 ‘It is important also to recognise the trust-bringing role of third parties such as data intermediaries, such as those 
as regulated by the DGA, which can act as neutral facilitators and enablers of data reuse in a common European 
data space. These actors mediate between the suppliers of data, the data subjects, the data storage providers, and 
the data utilisers. Depending on specific needs, they can serve as matchmakers between supply and demand for 
data, offer services and relevant technologies to help share data more easily, and provide a guarantee that data 
will be handled in a trustworthy and legally compliant manner.’;  
European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Farrell, E., Minghini, M., Kotsev, A. et al., European data 
spaces – Scientific insights into data sharing and utilisation at scale, Publications Office of the European 
Union, 2023; https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2760/400188 
11 European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Micheli, M., Farrell, E., Carballa-Smichowski, B. et al., 
Mapping the landscape of data intermediaries – Emerging models for more inclusive data governance, 
Publications Office of the European Union, 2023; https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2760/261724 

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Enabling the discovery 
and combination of data 
from different data spaces 
(e.g. mobility, energy and 
tourism) and transport 
modes.  

Supporting the discovery, 
access and combination of 
mobility, infrastructure, 
administrative and 
geospatial data. 

Multimodal mobility and 
transport 

Supporting the integration 
of information from 
operators of various 
transport modes. 

mobility  plans  and  to  use  the  data  to  monitor  the  progress 
made towards the set objectives. 

•  Better  management  of  traffic  and  tourist  flows  (e.g.  through 
multimodal and coordinated  mobility services for citizens), 
integrating shared and micro-mobility into the public transport 
offer. 

•  Up-to-date data on cycling infrastructure (e.g. parking garages, 
charging  stations  and  bike-sharing)  to  promote  cycling  and 
inform cyclists. 

• 

• 

•  Supporting local authorities in the implementation of urban 
vehicle  access  regulations  (UVARs)  12  in  order  to  reduce 
emissions and traffic congestion.  
Informing  travellers  when  they  are  approaching  an  UVAR 
(e.g. through navigation apps) or granting ad hoc exemptions 
(e.g. for the transport of persons with disabilities and reduced 
mobility). 
Informing persons with disabilities and reduced mobility on 
the  accessibility  of  infrastructure  and  transportation  services 
13. 
Improving access to interoperable tickets across all transport 
modes  (e.g.  providing  comparable  data  on  prices,  carbon 
footprints  and  journey  times)  and  delivering  real-time  and 
dynamic  information  to  passengers  (e.g.  on  accessibility, 
schedule changes and disruptions). 
Integration  and  combination  of  different  transport  modes  in 
multimodal  supply  chains  for  more  efficient  and  resilient 
logistics and freight transport. 

• 

• 

Road safety 

•  Better  monitoring  of  the  severity  and  nature  of  road  traffic 

Facilitating the integration 
of transport data from non-
transport sectors. 
Connected, automated 
and autonomous mobility 

Facilitating the discovery, 
access and sharing of 
infrastructure and real-
time traffic data.  

casualties by linking hospital and police data. 

•  Easier access to safety and traffic data can help road transport 
operators  prioritise  funding  for  the  most  urgent  physical 
infrastructure adaptations. 

•  Helping  to  build  an  ever-richer  digital  twin  of  the  driving 

environment. 

•  Supporting 

the  development  and  operation  of  safe, 
connected,  automated  and  ultimately 
increasingly 
autonomous  mobility,  allowing  for  faster  development  and 
test  programmes as  well as  faster expansion of the roads on 
which automated vehicles can safely operate. 

•  Enable  the  development  of  data-driven  services  benefiting 
passengers  and  transport  operators,  taking  advantage  of 

12 https://uvarbox.eu/  
13  Data  should  be  provided  in  an  accessible  manner  in  line  with  the  requirements  set  forth  in  Directive  (EU) 
2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on the accessibility requirements for 
products and services, OJ L 151, 7.6.2019, p. 70–115 (European Accessibility Act), which applies to the delivery 
of transport service information, including real-time travel information. 

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Sustainable alternative 
fuels 

Enabling the discovery 
and merging of energy, 
vehicle, traffic, 
infrastructure and 
geospatial data. 

Logistics 

Making it easier to 
discover and combine data 
from different (modal) 
sources, infrastructure and 
capacity availability. 

Urban logistics 

Enabling access to freight 
data and urban 
infrastructure data. 

Waterborne 

Enabling interoperability, 
access and exchange of 
data between different 
modes and stakeholders 
(e.g. inland ports, vessels 
and logistics actors). 

investments  in  connectivity  infrastructure  along  transport 
paths, and supporting new business models. 

•  Supporting location planning for the roll-out of alternative 
fuels infrastructure by merging data on vehicle traffic flows 
with  geospatial  data  on  grid  availability  and  renewable 
acceleration areas. 

•  Leveraging 

the  common  European  energy  data  space. 
Electromobility and energy data can be combined to simulate 
energy  demand  models, 
smart  and 
bidirectional  recharging  of  electric  vehicles  (EVs)  that 
contribute to data flows in real time to allow flexible electricity 
consumption (e.g. by reducing demand at peak times).  

thus  enabling 

•  Facilitating  data-sharing  is  crucial  so  that  service  providers 
can develop high-quality services to inform EV drivers about 
recharging  locations,  prices,  availability  and  the  overall 
characteristics  of  infrastructure  and 
the  availability  of 
renewable energy. 

•  More accurate estimated times of arrival (ETAs) and estimated 
times of interchange (ETIs), and enhanced resource and asset 
management for businesses. 

•  Dynamic 

rerouting  of 
environmental efficiency into account. 

freight  across  modes, 

taking 

•  Facilitating the discovery of optimal safe and secure parking 

for heavy goods vehicle drivers. 

•  On-time delivery of goods for consumers, along with lower 

costs, climate and environmental impact. 

Smarter  urban  logistics  would  benefit  both  transport  operators 
and local authorities: 
•  City planners could analyse freight data (e.g. freight volumes, 
vehicle and routes used, and loading/unloading operations) to 
steer their freight-related planning, policies and investment in 
infrastructure – especially for the first and last mile.  

•  Urban 

infrastructure  data 

(e.g.  kerbside  use,  vehicle 
accessibility,  parking  space,  real-time  traffic  monitoring  and 
charging infrastructure) would help freight service providers 
and transport operators to increase the efficiency of delivery 
operations, and could encourage collaborative solutions. 
•  Helping port authorities to manage inland port infrastructure 

(reserving mooring places, locks, etc.) 

•  Helping fleet owners and skippers to better plan voyages in 
order to maximise usage of their fleet (including during 
droughts). 

•  Better integration of inland water transport (IWT) in supply 

chains. 

•  Supporting the concept of IWT smart shipping 14. 

14 PIANC Report N° 21 – Smart Shipping on Inland Waterways, March 2022, p.52. 

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Aviation 

Enabling the integration of 
energy related data 
(e.g. electricity - source 
and cost, aviation fuel 
blend - origin, cost and 
availability) 

•  Sharing data on environmental conditions for maritime 

vessels and supporting port call optimisation 15. 

•  Helping airport-managing bodies and aircraft operators to 
better communicate their emission footprints as well as their 
contributions to the decarbonisation of the aviation sector by 
reference to benchmarks. This would bring clarity on the type 
of electricity and fuels used on the airport premises and to be 
able to report on it.  

•  Promoting competition (e.g. between fuel suppliers), helping 
to boost innovation and reducing prices for passengers. This 
is  particularly  relevant  in  the  context  of  trading  sustainable 
aviation fuels 16. 

Overall, as more data becomes available, the potential to optimise the transport and mobility 
systems also increases. However, the challenge to harness this potential (whether off-line or in 
day-to-day  operations)  is  also  great,  and  both  public  and  private  actors  need  to  manage  an 
increasingly  detailed  and  complex  transport  system.  Artificial  intelligence  (AI)  can  play  a 
major  role  here.  AI  and  the  EMDS  mutually  reinforce  each  other.  The  EMDS  fosters  the 
accessibility and reuse of data, while AI makes it easier to use that data for new information 
and services (provided it is trained with representative, non-biased datasets). AI can make it 
easier to handle the sheer volume and complexity of data, finding synergies and patterns that 
might otherwise remain unnoticed and untapped. This is particularly the case when optimising 
large  systems  with  many  variables,  for  which  there  may  not  necessarily  be  one  optimal 
solution. The EMDS is therefore also contributing to EU competences and competitiveness in 
AI for transport and mobility. 

3.  Cross-sectoral legislation and initiatives 

3.1.  The EU’s cross-sectoral data legislation and relevant common European data spaces 

The  EMDS  will  be  built  on  the  EU’s  cross-sectoral  legislation  on  data,  such  as  the  Data 
Governance Act 17, which increases trust in voluntary data-sharing, strengthens mechanisms 
to increase data availability and overcomes technical obstacles to the use of data. The Act is a 
key  building  block  for  the  creation  of  common  European  data  spaces  because  it  regulates 
neutral  data  intermediaries  that  will  play  a  central  role  in  facilitating  data  exchanges. 
Furthermore, the Act mandates the Commission to establish the European Data Innovation 
Board (EDIB), which is made up of relevant representatives from industry and from common 
European  data  spaces.  The  EDIB  will  play  a  fundamental  role  in  developing  and  issuing 
guidelines on how to  facilitate the development  of these data spaces, and  in  identifying the 
relevant standards and interoperability requirements for cross-sectoral data-sharing. 

15 https://www.emsa.europa.eu/sustainable-ports/port-call-optimisation.html  
16 By 1 July 2024, the Commission shall present a report assessing possible improvements or additional measures 
to the existing sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) flexibility mechanism referred to in Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 
2023/2405 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023 on ensuring a level playing field 
for sustainable air transport (ReFuelEU Aviation), OJ L, 2023/2405, 31.10.2023. 
17 Regulation (EU) 2022/868 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2022 on European data 
governance and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1724 (Data Governance Act), OJ L 152, 3.6.2022, p. 1. 

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The Commission proposed a Data Act 18 that aims to ensure fairness in the digital environment, 
stimulate a competitive data market, open opportunities for data-driven innovation and make 
data more accessible for all. By empowering users to access and share with third parties the 
data  generated  by  their  connected  devices,  such  as  connected  vehicles,  it  will  lead  to  more 
competitive  and  innovative  services  like  aftermarket  services.  The  development  and 
recommendation by the Commission of non-binding model contractual terms for business-to-
business data access, sharing and use will help EMDS participants to draft contracts with fair, 
reasonable  and  non-discriminatory  rights  and  obligations.  Finally,  the  Data  Act  defines 
essential requirements for data spaces and empowers the Commission to further specify these 
requirements  by  way  of  delegated  acts  and  to  adopt  implementing  acts  with  common 
specifications  to  ensure  the  interoperability  of  common  European  data  spaces  and  of  smart 
contracts. 

The  Implementing  Regulation  on  High-Value  Datasets 19  defines  a  list  of  ‘high-value’ 
datasets that the public sector has to make reusable as open data and free of charge. Datasets 
of particular relevance to transport include the INSPIRE data theme on Transport networks 20 
. The Open Data Directive 21 lays down the general  principle that publicly accessible data 
funded by the public sector should be reusable for commercial or non-commercial purposes. 
The  Interoperable  Europe  Act 22  proposed  by  the  Commission  should  strengthen  cross-
border interoperability and cooperation in the public sector across the EU. 

Any implementation of action under the umbrella of the EMDS will ensure compliance with 
EU data protection rules, including data protection ‘by design and by default’, according to the 
General  Data Protection Regulation 23 (the GDPR), which regulates the  processing by an 
individual, company or organisation of personal data relating to individuals in the EU.  

Cybersecurity should be at the forefront across all segments of the mobility ecosystem in line 
with the NIS2 Directive 24, which sets out strengthened cybersecurity requirements. Already 
the 2016 NIS Directive recognised transport—with its subsectors air, rail, water and road—as 
one of the most critical sectors. Due to their growing criticality for the EU economy and society, 
the operators of recharging points for motor vehicles (in the subsector electricity), as well as 
manufacturers  of  motor  vehicles  were  added  to  the  scope  of  the  NIS2  directive.  For  what 
concerns supply chain security, the Cyber Resilience Act proposal 25, which is currently in co-

18 COM(2022) 68 final, proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on harmonised 
rules on fair access to and use of data (Data Act). 
19 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 of 21 December 2022 laying down a list of specific high-
value datasets and the arrangements for their publication and re-use, OJ L 19, 20.1.2023, p. 43. 
20 https://inspire.ec.europa.eu/Themes/115/2892 
21 Directive (EU) 2019/1024 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on open data and the 
re-use of public sector information (recast), OJ L 172, 26.6.2019, p. 56. 
22 COM(2022) 720 final, proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down 
measures for a high level of public sector interoperability across the Union (Interoperable Europe Act) 
23 Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of 
natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data and repealing 
Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation), OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1. 
24 Directive (EU) 2022/2555 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on measures 
for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union, amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 and 
Directive (EU) 2018/1972, and repealing Directive (EU) 2016/1148 (NIS 2 Directive), OJ L 333, 27.12.2022, p. 
80. 
25 COM/2022/454 final, Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on horizontal 
cybersecurity requirements for products with digital elements and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1020. 

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decision  process,  will  also  play  a  key  role.  It  will  mandate  cybersecurity  by  design  and  by 
default for hardware and software accessing the European market. It also adds cybersecurity 
obligations throughout the lifecycle of  a product, such as security updates and vulnerability 
handling.  The  Commission  also  proposed  the  review  of  the  Resilience  of  Critical  Entities 
Directive 26, which expands the scope and depth of the 2008 Directive to cover eleven sectors, 
including  transport.  Another  important  development  related  to  cybersecurity  is  the 
Commission  proposal  for  a  European  Digital  Identity  Regulation  27,  which  revises 
Regulation 910/2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions 
in the internal market (the eIDAS) regulation 28. The forthcoming developments in the area of 
digital identity, in particular the European Digital Identity Wallets and the introduction of 
new  trust  services  (e.g.  electronic  attestations  of  attributes  and  electronic  ledgers),  are  of 
particular interest for data spaces due to their contribution in terms of privacy, data protection 
and security, hence likely to play a key role in enabling them. 

The creation of common European data spaces is a pioneering venture. The variety of sectors 
and  domains  involved,  each  of  them  with  their  own  characteristics  and  specific  data  (e.g. 
mobility  data,  energy  data  and  industrial  manufacturing  data)  including  different  reuse 
modalities, make it a great challenge. Even within a specific sector, there is a high level of 
complexity due to diverse use cases and the diverging interests of relevant actors as regards 
data use and specific data needs that might be hard to reconcile. 

A one-size-fits-all approach, encompassing both the necessary technical data infrastructure and 
the governance framework, has limited ability to meet the specific needs of each vertical sector 
or  domain.  It  will  nevertheless  be  key  to  identify  cross-sector  commonalities  and  to  develop, 
where possible, common principles and building blocks that can be used in different sectors and 
domains  without  compromising  solutions  that  already  exist  or  are  emerging  in  sector-specific 
domains. Relying on harmonised approaches and mechanisms will save resources and make highly 
beneficial use cases possible.  

The following are examples of data spaces closely relevant to the EMDS due to shared needs, 
datasets, key stakeholders and ecosystems. 
1)  The  common  European  Green  Deal  data  space  will  be  developed  as  the  thematic  data 
ecosystem  to  achieve  certain  European  Green  Deal  objectives  set  by  the  zero-pollution 
action plan 29, the circular economy action plan 30, the biodiversity strategy 31 and climate-
change mitigation/adaptation strategies. It will make accessible currently fragmented and 
dispersed  data  from  various  data  ecosystems,  both  for  and  from  the  private  and  public 
sectors.  It  will  also  include  the  data  space  for  smart  and  sustainable  cities  and 
communities which will support the green transition in  local  contexts and help  provide 

26 Directive (EU) 2022/2557 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on the 
resilience of critical entities and repealing Council Directive 2008/114/EC. 
27 COM(2021) 281 final, Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending 
Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 as regards establishing a framework for a European Digital Identity.  
28 Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic 
transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC (OJ L 257, 28.8.2014, p. 73).  
29 COM/2021/400 final 
30 COM(2020) 98 final  
31 COM/2020/380 final 

9 

 
 
 
services that can improve the quality of life of citizens. The EMDS covering the transport 
sector will contribute to and benefit from this data space that covers several thematic areas.  
2)  The  common  European  industrial  (manufacturing)  data  space,  where  data-sharing  in 
industry  has  the  potential  to  power  strong  growth,  helps  companies  optimise  existing 
processes, develop new products and create new businesses. The update of the 2020 New 
Industrial Strategy accordingly explains that an industrial (manufacturing) data space will 
lead to more flexible and resilient supply chains 32 that are closely related to the logistics 
and freight part of the transport sector and consequently of the EMDS.  

3)  The  common  European  energy  data  space  will  benefit  the  green  and  digital  transitions 
currently underway in  the EU.  It will help  to  further integrate  renewables  in  the energy 
system, increase the energy system flexibility and overall energy efficiency, facilitate the 
smart and bidirectional charging of electric vehicles, benefit consumers and producers, and 
ensure a smooth and competitive transition towards the electrification of sectors such as 
heating and transport. As set out in the EU action plan on digitalising the energy system 33, 
alignment  between  mobility  and  energy  data  spaces  is  important  to  identify  synergies, 
support system integration and roll-out cross-sectoral services. 

4)  The  common  European  tourism  data  space 34  will  support  businesses,  local  authorities 
responsible for tourism strategy and management and other relevant actors. By supporting 
data  access  and  flows  across  different  data  sets  within  the  sector  and  across  other  data 
spaces,  it  will  provide  a  service  to  various  data  users  such  as  business  intermediaries, 
destination managers, tourism service providers and data analysts. This will be of particular 
benefit for smaller destinations as well as for SMEs, who account for the vast majority of 
private sector stakeholders in tourism in the EU. Combining data from the mobility and 
tourism sectors will unlock value-added use cases for destinations and tourists as described 
in the relevant section above. 

As the relevant data spaces will be gradually deployed, joint use cases will be sought. 

The  Data  Spaces  Support  Centre  (DSSC)  35,  which  is  funded  under  the  Digital  Europe 
Programme  (DIGITAL)  and  was  launched  in  October  2022,  supports  and  coordinates  all 
relevant  actions  on  the  common  European  data  spaces.  It  is  mandated  to  provide  common 
blueprint  architecture  and  data-infrastructure  requirements  for  data  spaces  and  ensure  a 
coherent and harmonised approach. The preparatory and deployment  actions  of the EMDS, 
have and will be carried out in close partnership with the DSSC to guarantee alignment with 
the common European data spaces technical framework. 

In parallel, the Commission is procuring an open-source smart cloud-to-edge middleware 
platform (Simpl), funded under DIGITAL, that will address the needs of the different data 
spaces and enable the realisation of the European Cloud Federation. The platform will provide 
secure and modular basic building blocks that will serve as an enabling layer and a basis for 
the deployment and interconnection of sectoral data spaces, including the EMDS 36. 

32 European Commission 2021 press release, ‘Updating the 2020 Industrial Strategy: towards a stronger Single 
Market for Europe’s recovery’. 
33 EU action plan on digitalising the energy system COM(2022) 552 final and SWD/2022/341 final 
34 C(2023)4787 
35 https://dssc.eu/ 
36 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/simpl-cloud-edge-federations-and-data-spaces-made-simple  

10 

 
 
The  Digital  Decade  Policy  Programme  2030 37  introduced  a  new  legal  framework  to 
implement  multi-country  projects:  the  European  Digital  Infrastructure  Consortium 
(EDIC). Created by a minimum of three Member States, an EDIC can become a legal entity 
with  the  capacity  to  pool  European,  national  and  private  contributions.  Germany,  the 
Netherlands  and  Finland  have  pre-notified  the  Commission  of  their  intention  to  create  a 
mobility and logistics data EDIC that contributes to the objectives of the EMDS 38. Such an 
EDIC  would  aim  to  ensure  the  sustainability  of  common  data  infrastructure,  reinforce 
coordination among its members and drive adoption through cross-border use cases. Additional 
Member  States  and  organisations  have  expressed  their  interest  to  join.  The  Commission 
welcomes the pre-notification of this EDIC and will closely follow its possible set-up. 

3.2.  Other relevant initiatives and building blocks  

In  addition  to  the  above-mentioned  initiatives,  various  data  ecosystems,  platforms  and 
marketplaces, which are driven by public or private actors, seek to facilitate data-sharing where 
their building blocks, reference architectures and data-governance mechanisms could be used 
to  complement  the  common  EMDS.  Indicative  examples  include  the  EC  DIGIT  building 
blocks 39  (e.g.  eDelivery),  the  reference  architecture  of  the  International  Data  Space 
Association (IDSA) 40 and the open-source software platform components of FIWARE 41. Of 
similar interest is the work being done under the lighthouse projects of Gaia-X 42 (e.g. Eona-
X 43, which focuses on mobility, transport and tourism use cases; and the German Mobility 
Data Space 44). Examples from the logistics sector include iSHARE 45 and FEDeRATED 46, 
a project co-funded by the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). 

EU’s  support  (under  Horizon  Europe  and  DIGITAL)  in  the  development  of  cloud-to-edge 
infrastructure, services and value chains in the EU will provide a favourable ecosystem for the 
development of the EMDS. It will allow strong synergies with initiatives related to AI such as 
the  AI  testing  and  experimentation  facility  for  smart  cities  and  communities  47.  Finally, 
investments in digital communication infrastructure, such as 5G infrastructure at cross-borders 
and in market failure areas along major transport paths 48, are essential enablers for mobility 
and freight data sharing. 

37 Decision (EU) 2022/2481 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 establishing the 
Digital Decade Policy Programme 2030, OJ L 323, 19.12.2022, p. 4. 
38 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/digital-assembly-2023-digital-open-and-secure-europe  
39 https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/ 
40 https://internationaldataspaces.org/  
41 https://www.fiware.org/ 
42 https://gaia-x.eu/  
43 https://eona-x.eu/  
44 https://mobility-dataspace.eu/  
45 https://ishare.eu/  
46 http://www.federatedplatforms.eu/  
47 www.citcom.ai  
48 https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/cross-border-corridors  

11 

 
 
4.  Towards a coherent and harmonised common European mobility data space 

4.1.  Existing and future initiatives in the field of mobility and transport data 

The mobility and transport sector is characterised by a well-established and still-evolving EU 
set  of  legislation  and  complementary  initiatives,  which  organise  data-sharing  for  both 
passengers  and  freight  in  the  business-to-consumer  (B2C),  business-to-business  (B2B), 
(G2B)  and  government-to-
business-to-government 
government  (G2G)  domains.  The  current  landscape  is  very  heterogeneous  and  fragmented, 
however, with various data-sharing frameworks and data ecosystems. The aim of the EMDS is 
to  facilitate  the  interconnection  of  these  ecosystems  and  where  relevant  introduce  further 
progressive harmonization, including as concerns data access conditions. 

(B2G),  government-to-business 

Most of these frameworks have their own governance, architecture and platforms. They often 
include important achievements as regards the harmonisation of data-sharing conditions and 
are  considered  important  elements  and  building  blocks  of  the  EMDS  (as  stated  in  the 
European strategy for data). They will be duly taken into account in establishing the EMDS. A 
non-exhaustive set of these EU mobility and transport data-relevant pieces of legislation and 
initiatives  is  described  below  by  transport  sector:  waterborne  and  logistics;  rail;  intelligent 
transport  systems;  transport  networks  and  infrastructure;  automotive;  aviation;  and  road 
transport and safety.  

Waterborne and logistics 

The Digital Transport and Logistics Forum (DTLF) 49, a Commission expert group, works 
on  full-scale  digital  interoperability  in  order  to  facilitate  data-sharing  between  relevant 
stakeholders from all transport modes in a secure and trusted freight transport and logistics 
data  space.  For  this  purpose,  the  DTLF  defines  design  principles  as  well  as  technical  and 
governance building blocks for a common federated data-exchange framework that connects 
existing  transport  and  logistics  platforms  and  ecosystems  easily  and  in  a  collaborative  and 
trusted  environment.  The  DTLF  played  an  important  role  in  the  preparation  of  the  EU 
Regulation  on  electronic  freight  transport  information  (eFTI) 50  and  continues  to  be 
essential  in  the  related  implementation  work.  The  eFTI  Regulation  establishes  a  legal 
framework that will allow economic operators to provide freight transport information to prove 
compliance with EU and national rules for intra-EU transport in an electronic format. 

The European Maritime Single Window environment (EMSWe) Regulation 51 establishes 
harmonised  rules  for  the  provision  of  the  information  that  is  required  for  port  calls.  In 
particular, it ensures that the same data-sets can be reported in each Member State in the same 
way and that once provided, data can be reused by the relevant stakeholders.  

49 https://transport.ec.europa.eu/transport-themes/digital-transport-and-logistics-forum-dtlf_en  
50 Regulation (EU) 2020/1056 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 on electronic freight 
transport information, OJ L 249, 31.7.2020, p. 33. 
51  Regulation  (EU)  2019/1239 of  the European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  20  June  2019  establishing  a 
European Maritime Single Window environment and repealing Directive 2010/65/EU, OJ L 198, 25.7.2019, p. 
64. 

12 

 
 
The revision of the River Information Services (RIS) Directive 52 should provide an effective 
framework  for  the  deployment  and  use  of  harmonised  RIS  in  the  EU  and  improve  the 
interoperability of information services and data-sharing in inland waterway transport. 

Rail 

In  the  railway  sector,  infrastructure  data  are  the  basis  for  building  up  mobility  data.  The 
revised common specifications for the register of railway infrastructure (RINF) 53 establish 
the RINF as the common source of rail infrastructure data. It is based on the ERA ontology 54 
which  defines  machine-readable  and  structured  data  elements  of  the  rail  system  and  is  the 
building block of the EMDS for rail. 

The  review  of  the  regulatory  framework  for  interoperable  data-sharing  in  rail  transport 55 
through  the  review  of  technical  specifications  for  interoperability  (TSIs)  relating  to  the 
telematics applications subsystem will streamline information exchanges related to capacity 
management and traffic management of both passenger and freight services. The review will 
also set up a harmonised framework of technical specifications for ticketing of rail passenger 
services. 

The recast Regulation on rail passenger rights 56 establishes an obligation for infrastructure 
managers  and  railway  undertakings  to  provide  real-time  dynamic  traffic  and  travel 
information, not only to railway undertakings but also to ticket vendors and tour operators, in 
order to make them available to rail users. Allowing ticket-selling entities to access information 
on real-time delays, reservations and availability requests will boost the rail-ticketing market 
and support efforts to offer more innovative tickets by enabling different rail carriers and ticket 
vendors/tour  operators  to  sell  bundled  tickets  from  different  carriers  and  for  a  variety  of 
connections.  

Intelligent transport systems 

EU specifications adopted under the ITS Directive 57 aim at harmonising the provision of ITS 
services and access to data on the basis of common standards. They require the accessibility of 
multimodal traffic, travel and infrastructure data via a network of national access points (NAPs) 
established by the Member States. The CEF-funded NAPCORE 58 project, which involves all 
Member States as well as associated partners, allows EU-wide cooperation towards the creation 
of common solutions to better facilitate the reuse of ITS data and for a common vision for ITS 
data availability and accessibility in the EU. 

52 Directive 2005/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on harmonised river 
information services (RIS) on inland waterways in the Community, OJ L 255 30.9.2005, p. 152. 
53 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/777 of 16 May 2019 on the common specifications for the 
register of railway infrastructure and repealing Implementing Decision 2014/880/EU, OJ L 139I, 27.5.2019, p. 
312;  and  associated  guidance  documentation  (https://www.era.europa.eu/domains/registers/rinf_en)  to  access 
RINF (https://rinf.era.europa.eu/rinf/). 
54 https://data-interop.era.europa.eu/era-vocabulary/  
55 COM(2020) 66 final 
56 Regulation (EU) 2021/782 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2021 on rail passengers’ 
rights and obligations (recast), OJ L 172, 17.5.2021, p. 1. 
57 Directive 2010/40/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2010 on the framework for the 
deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in the field of road transport and for interfaces with other modes of 
transport, OJ L 207, 6.8.2010, p. 1. 
58 https://napcore.eu/  

13 

 
 
This  framework  is  constantly  evolving,  with  the  aim  of  increasing  the  availability  and 
accessibility of ITS data via the NAPs. The revision of the ITS Directive 59 aims at making 
crucial  data  available  across  the  EU,  in  order  to  foster  the  deployment  of  ITS  services  and 
ensure  that  the  benefits  of  digitalisation  can  be  reaped.  Furthermore,  in  the  revision  of  the 
Delegated  Regulation (EU) 2017/1926  on  multimodal  travel  information  services,  the 
Commission  requires  data  holders  to  make  real-time  travel  information  data  accessible  via 
NAPs,  which  should  enhance  the  quality  of  multimodal  travel  information  services  and 
facilitate planning for passengers. 

Transport networks and infrastructure 

The  Regulation  on  the  Trans-European  Transport  Network  (TEN-T)  60,  currently  under 
revision 61, addresses the implementation and development of an EU-wide network of railway 
lines, roads, inland waterways, maritime shipping routes, ports, airports and railroad terminals 
as well as the deployment of information and communication technology (ICT) systems for all 
these transport modes. TENtec is the Commission’s information and monitoring system for 
coordinating and supporting the TEN-T policy. The TENtec public portal 62 provides timely 
information  to  the  public  (citizens  and  professionals)  through  interactive  maps  and  a  map 
library. In order to ensure such timely and up-to-date data, ‘automated data-exchange’ solutions 
are currently being analysed together with the Member States and other relevant EU bodies. 
The guiding concept is the ‘once-only’ principle so as to reduce the administrative burden on 
Member States by asking the same information only once. In this context, the Commission is 
supporting  the  development  of  ‘automated  data  exchange’  solutions  through  CEF  technical 
assistance 63. 

The  Alternative  Fuels  Infrastructure  Regulation  (AFIR) 64  requires  recharging  and 
refuelling point operators to make relevant data available through the NAPs to other data-users 
at no cost and requires Member States to ensure the accessibility of these data. Furthermore, 
the European Alternative Fuels  Observatory (EAFO) 65 will underpin its role  as the key 
public  information  tool on  alternative  fuels  infrastructure.  EAFO´s  future  development  will 
support  the  creation  of  new  information  services  and  enable  effective  policy-monitoring  of 
market developments. In this context, the common EMDS could help support wider access to 
and discoverability of alternative fuels infrastructure data.  

59 COM/2021/813 final, Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and the Council, amending 
Directive 2010/40/EU on the framework for the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems in the field of road 
transport and for interfaces with other modes of transport 
60 Regulation (EU) 1315/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on Union 
guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network and repealing Decision No 661/2010/EU, 
OJ L 348, 20.12.2013, p. 1. 
61  COM(2021) 812 final,  Proposal  for  a  Regulation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  Union 
guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network, amending Regulation (EU) 2021/1153 
and Regulation (EU) No 913/2010 and repealing Regulation (EU) 1315/2013. 
62 https://ec.europa.eu/transport/infrastructure/tentec/tentec-portal/map/maps.html 
63 
states-general-envelope_en  
64  Regulation  (EU)  2023/1804  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  13  September  2023  on  the 
deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, and repealing Directive 2014/94/EU, OJ L 234, 22.9.2023, p. 1. 
65 https://alternative-fuels-observatory.ec.europa.eu/ 

https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/funding-opportunities/calls-proposals/cef-transport-technical-assistance-member-

14 

 
 
The revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED)  66 puts an obligation on transmission and 
distribution system operators to make available information close to real time on the share of 
renewable energy and the greenhouse gas emissions content of the electricity they supply to 
the electric vehicle users, aggregators and e-mobility service providers and electricity market 
participants. 

Automotive 

In the automotive sector, type-approval legislation sets conditions of access for third-party 
service  providers  to  repair  and  maintenance  information.  This  legislation is  currently  under 
review 67 in an initiative that aims at setting the conditions for accessing and using in-vehicle 
generated  data,  as  well  as  vehicle  resources  and  functions.  It  aims  to  enable  clear  and 
competition-friendly EU rules for a faster development of services that are based on access to 
vehicle data, functions and resources (e.g. remote diagnostic, predictive maintenance, mobility 
as a service, connected and automated mobility, fleet management, smart charging of electric 
vehicles, car sharing, repurposing  of batteries in  electric vehicles to  extend end of life, and 
insurance).  Making  it  easier  for  public  authorities  to  access  in-vehicle  data  can  also 
significantly increase adoption of modern (data-driven) policy-making methods in the fields of 
road  safety,  transport,  mobility  and  the  environment.  For  the  sake  of  road  safety,  it  will  be 
crucial that authorised vehicle inspectors (public and private) have easy and free access to the 
vehicle-specific data they need in order to perform roadworthiness tests on modern vehicles. 
Assessing the cybersecurity aspects of connected and automated vehicles – including Electric 
Vehicles – is a matter of priority, as they may present implications for cyber-espionage, foreign 
interference  or  data  security.  In  accordance  with  article  22  of  the  NIS2  Directive,  the 
Commission,  after  consulting  the  NIS  Cooperation  Group  and  ENISA  68,  will  consider 
identifying relevant supply chains related to connected and automated vehicles in order to carry 
out  a  Union  level  coordinated  risk  assessment,  taking  into  account  technical,  and  where 
relevant, non-technical risk factors. 

Aviation 

The Commission amended in 2020 its proposal for a regulation on the implementation of the 
Single European Sky 69, partly in order to include (i) new provisions on data availability and 
in  particular  to  make  operational  data  (such  as  the  estimated  time  of  arrival  for  scheduled 
flights) available on a cross-border basis and across the EU; and (ii) pricing principles that are 
to be further defined in order to ensure a level playing field in market access for data service 
providers in the field of air traffic management. 

Data4Safety (D4S) 70 is a voluntary partnership between EU Member States and industry to 
better identify systemic aviation safety risks at EU level as well as their mitigation. This is done 
through the collection of aviation data and the building-up of analytical capacity to make good 
use of this data, which are collected from across the aviation system (e.g. safety reports, flight 

66 Directive (EU) 2023/2413 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023 amending 
Directive (EU) 2018/2001, Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 and Directive 98/70/EC as regards the promotion of 
energy from renewable sources, and repealing Council Directive (EU) 2015/652, OJ L, 2023/2413, 31.10.2023. 
67 Access to vehicle data, functions and resources (europa.eu) 
68 https://www.enisa.europa.eu/  
69 COM(2020) 579 final, amended proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the 
implementation of the Single European Sky (recast). 
70 https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/domains/safety-management/data4safety 

15 

 
 
data from airlines, and traffic data from the ATM system or weather data). The data are used 
by the experts from EU Member States and industry who collaborate with D4S data scientists. 

ICARE (Informational Core for Aviation Related Extractions) is a tool used by the European 
Commission for data analysis and reporting in the field of aviation. It helps policymakers to 
make better-informed decisions. It makes it possible to analyse the global traffic supply and 
demand of air transport  in  aviation  markets  as  reported by  carriers of their flight schedules 
(supply) and Eurostat (demand).  

The Atlas  of the Sky 71 is a geographical  tool  that uses  ICARE-based data to  convert data-
driven information into map-based charts (e.g. information on TEN-T, ASAs, PSOs, airports 
and air traffic). The Atlas of the Sky enables users to directly open reports in ICARE or traffic-
related data.  

Under the ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation 72, the Commission proposed that EASA should 
(from 2025 and every year thereafter) publish a technical report based on the annual reports 
published by the fuel suppliers, aircraft operators and airport-managing bodies within the scope 
of the Regulation. This report will contain key indicators on the development of sustainable 
aviation in the EU, such as the aggregated amount of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supplied 
and  used  across  the  EU,  the  state  of  the  SAF  market  (including  prices  and  trends  in  SAF 
production) and the compliance status of stakeholders affected by Regulation. 

Road transport and safety 

In the road transport sector, a number of databases and data-exchange systems make it easier 
for road transport operators and national authorities to comply with and control compliance 
with  the  EU’s  road  transport  rules.  The  key  systems  allowing  G2G,  B2G  and  G2B  data 
exchanges are the European Register on Road Undertakings (ERRU) 73, TACHOnet 74 and 
the Internal Market Information system (IMI) 75. 
In road safety, the EU CARE 76 database includes annual data on all road crashes leading to 
death or injury in the EU and EFTA 77 countries. It is based largely on police data. Linking 
police and hospital records would significantly improve the quality of data on the severity of 
injuries.  Key  road-safety  performance  indicators  are  also  being  collected  through  the  EU-
funded Trendline project 78. 

These initiatives and their ecosystems are an important part of the development of the 
EMDS.  The  added  value  of  the  EMDS  will  be  the  interlinking  of  those  ecosystems  and, 

71 https://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/air/aos/aos_public.html  
72 Regulation (EU) 2023/2405 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023 on ensuring a 
level playing field for sustainable air transport (ReFuelEU Aviation), OJ L, 2023/2405, 31.10.2023. 
73 ERRU is an electronic system for the exchange of information between Member States’ authorities on road 
transport  undertakings  and  on  their  compliance  with  the  EU  road  transport  rules;  European  Register  of  Road 
Transport Undertakings (ERRU) (europa.eu) 
74 TACHOnet is a system for the electronic exchange of information between Member States on driver tachograph 
cards; https://transport.ec.europa.eu/transport-modes/road/tachograph/tachonet_en. 
75 IMI is a secure, multilingual online tool managed by the Commission that facilitates the exchange of information 
between Member States’ authorities involved in the practical implementation of the EU law. IMI helps authorities 
to fulfil their cross-border administrative cooperation obligations in multiple single-market policy areas; IMI-Net 
- The EU Single Market (europa.eu) 
76 https://road-safety.transport.ec.europa.eu/statistics-and-analysis/methodology-and-research/care-database_en 
77 https://www.efta.int/  
78 https://www.baseline.vias.be/  

16 

 
 
where gaps are identified, the provision of recommendations or, where relevant, proposals, 
for further harmonisation to facilitate data access, reuse and sharing. 

4.2.  Designing a common umbrella framework and main components  

In order to  address the objectives mentioned in Section 2, the Commission  will support the 
development of an EMDS framework. 

The EMDS framework will have technical (e.g. infrastructure elements) and governance 
dimensions (e.g. a set of rules, procedures, roles and responsibilities which will need to be 
developed and adapted on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with relevant EU legislation). 
It  will  facilitate  data  access,  reuse  and  sharing  in  a  federated,  trusted  and  secure 
environment between mobility and transport data ecosystems and their stakeholders and with 
other sectoral data spaces.  

The  EMDS  needs  a  clearly  defined  governance  structure,  compatible  with  relevant  EU 
legislation, with  roles and responsibilities for its effective establishment and operation. The 
Commission,  drawing  on  dedicated  projects  and  stakeholder  consultations,  will  analyse 
existing governance frameworks in the mobility and transport sector and assess the options for 
the  set-up  of  an  organisational  governance  structure  of  the  EMDS.  This  may  include  an 
operational  role,  encompassing  for  instance  the  recommendations  of  building  blocks  and 
standards, the certification of compliance with the EMDS framework and the operation of an 
interlinking  layer.  It  may  entail  different  levels  of  governance.  It  should  ensure  the  active 
participation of different stakeholders and respect principles of fairness and transparency. 

This EMDS framework will consist of the following main components.  

1)  Building blocks:  

Drawing on stakeholder input and dedicated projects, the Commission will first analyse 
the building blocks used in existing mobility and transport data ecosystems, and in other 
industry sectors that can be reused under the EMDS. On this basis, a set of common 
building blocks for interoperability, data sovereignty 79, trust and value creation, 
as well as governance, business and legal dimensions will be outlined. These building 
blocks should be described as part of a coherent reference architecture. The goal is to 
reuse  as  many  existing  building  blocks  as  possible  (in  particular  generic  data  space 
building blocks), but also to facilitate the creation of new building blocks (if needed). 

2)  Standards:  

There are today a significant number of standards mandated under the EU’s transport 
acquis – in addition to other industry standards that are also in use. The Commission 
will  analyse  the  existing  standards  landscape  (particularly  those  relevant  to  data 
quality,  comparability,  level  of  service  and  accessibility),  and  will  consider  the 

79 ‘Data sovereignty involves enhancing control by organisations and individuals over data that they contribute to 
generating. It implies participation in data governance and allows individuals and organisations to self-determine 
how, when and at what price others may use their data  across the value chain. It means that data holders can 
safeguard user data and ensure that it is used only in accordance with strictly defined rules.’;  
European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Farrell, E., Minghini, M., Kotsev, A. et al., European data spaces 
–  Scientific  insights  into  data  sharing  and  utilisation  at  scale,  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union, 
2023; https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2760/400188.  
Rules on data sovereignty should always be objective, non-discriminatory and transparent. 

17 

 
 
 
opportunity  of  adopting  suitable  follow-up  measures,  including  issuing  non-binding 
recommendations to foster standardisation convergence and enable the interoperability 
of data sources and ecosystems that facilitate the exchange of data based on a federated 
framework. It is important to note that developing new standards is not within the scope 
of the EMDS. The aim is to recommend existing standards for data-sharing that could 
be used by existing and future mobility and transport ecosystems and to clearly set out 
those standards that would be most relevant when linking to the EMDS. 

3)  Interlinking layer:  

Drawing  on  discussions  with  relevant  stakeholders  and  dedicated  projects,  the 
Commission  will  aim  at  first  defining  the  specifications  and  then  support  the 
deploying of an interlinking layer that will enable the interconnectivity of existing 
and emerging mobility and transport data spaces and domains. It will notably facilitate 
the discoverability and accessibility of data from those data spaces and domains. In 
this way, this layer is expected to become the core of EMDS.  

All the EMDS components will be aligned with guidelines and essential requirements defined 
under cross-sectoral data legislation and with the generic framework for common European 
data spaces, in particular recommendations from the EDIB, the DSSC and relevant building 
blocks, e.g. provided by Simpl (see section 3.1).  

The envisioned concept of the EMDS is illustrated in Figure 1. This concept will necessarily 
evolve  as  implementation  progresses  and  requires  a  certain  flexibility  so  that  the  overall 
framework can be adapted. The framework will follow guidelines and essential requirements 
defined in the EU’s cross- sectoral data legislation, align with horizontal initiatives and other 
sectoral data spaces (see Section 3.1), public or private mobility data ecosystems and initiatives 
(see Section 3.2) and be built on existing and future EU-mobility data domains, legislation and 
initiatives  (see  Section 4.1).  At  the  same  time,  the  framework  will  feed  these  initiatives, 
ecosystems and data spaces with other data and relevant recommendations. The end-users of 
the  EMDS  will  be  able  to  discover,  access  and  exchange  data  with  this  vast  range  of 
ecosystems, so that they can create innovative mobility services and enable value-added use 
cases in the transport sector (see Section 2.2). 

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Figure 1: envisioned concept of the EMDS 

4.3.  EMDS development phases and funding instruments 

In  line  with  the  commitment  taken  in  the  European  data  strategy,  the  development  of  the 
components of the common EMDS will be carried out in phases, following an incremental and 
iterative approach. The Commission is supporting this development by funding a number of 
projects  under  DIGITAL 80  and  CEF 81  with  a  total  current  funding  of  EUR 11.4 million. 
Other  initiatives  will  also  have  important  spill-overs  for  the  EMDS  development  (e.g.  the 
planned next phase of the NAPCORE project (EUR 9.5 million)). 

All  ongoing  and  planned  actions  will  include  the  requisite  stakeholder  consultation  with 
Member  States,  public  authorities,  private  actors  and  the  general  public.  The  public 
consultations have already begun with the call for evidence 82 (November-December 2022) and 
have continued with public and expert workshops 83 that involved a total of more than 1 000 
participants in 2023. 

Phase 1 (as from September 2022) 

In  the  first  phase,  work  is  ongoing  to  identify  and  map  relevant  existing  and  emerging 
initiatives in the field of mobility and transport. It will also lead to a first set of guidelines that 
actors  of  existing  and  future  domains  and  ecosystems  can  voluntarily  implement  to  further 

80 Digital Europe Programme, Work Programme for 2021-2022, Annex, p 47. Data space for mobility 
81 Regulation (EU) 2021/1153 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2021 establishing the 
Connecting  Europe  Facility  and 
(EU) No 283/2014, 
OJ L 249, 14.7.2021, p. 38. 
82 Transport data – creating a common European mobility data space (communication) (europa.eu) 
83 Three examples are the 10th Florence Intermodal Forum: Creating a Common European Mobility Data Space 
-  Florence  School  of  Regulation  (eui.eu)  (November  25,  2022);  PrepDSpace4Mobility  expert  and  public 
stakeholder workshops (mobilitydataspace-csa.eu); and an online stakeholder workshop by DG MOVE ‘Public 
workshop on creating a common European mobility data space (EMDS)’ (February 16, 2023) 

repealing  Regulations (EU) No 1316/2013  and 

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develop  and  harmonise  (in  accordance  with  the  recommendations  of  the  DSSC  when 
available).  

More  specifically,  under  DIGITAL,  a  12-month  coordination  and  support  action  (CSA)  – 
‘PrepDSpace4Mobility’ 84  (EUR 1 million)  –  started  in  October  2022  with  two  main 
objectives. The first main objective was to draw up an inventory of existing mobility and 
transport  data  initiatives,  ecosystems  and  platforms  and  their  main  characteristics.  The 
second was to provide recommendations on possible common design principles and building 
blocks and to explore options for a common framework for data-sharing in the mobility and 
transport  sector.  It  also  brought  stakeholders  together  and  encouraged  convergence  in  the 
diverse mobility and transport ecosystem.  

Under the CEF, the Commission is planning to launch a 12-month technical assistance study 
(EUR 500 000)  in  Q1  2024.  This  will  help  define  the  governance  aspects  of  the  EMDS 
framework as well as develop the specifications for the interlinking layer that will facilitate 
the discoverability and accessibility of data by defining common metadata from existing and 
emerging  mobility  and 
transport  data  domains.  It  will  also  develop  non-binding 
recommendations  to  enable  interoperability  of  existing  data  sources  and  ecosystems  that 
facilitate the exchange of data based on a federated framework. The study will complement the 
results of the PrepDSpace4Mobility initiative.  

Phase 2 (as from November 2023) 

The  second  phase  will  focus  on  the  implementation  of  the  EMDS  framework.  Support  and 
collaboration will be needed for the progressive implementation of this framework by existing 
transport and mobility data initiatives to facilitate mobility data access, pooling and sharing 
within the mobility sector and across sectors.  

To support the second phase, a project 85 under DIGITAL was kicked-off in November 2023 
(EUR 8 million) and it will run for 36 months. It will deploy an operational data space so that 
participants can make data available and share data in a controlled, simple and secure way. It 
will focus on data-sharing use cases related to travel, traffic and urban mobility indicators. 

Additionally,  under  the  CEF,  a  deployment  initiative  is  planned  for  Q1  2025  (EUR  1.9 
million). This will build on the outcome of the DIGITAL projects, the CEF technical assistance 
study and existing national and EU initiatives that will further develop, test and validate the 
overall framework for the EMDS. The focus will be on: 

• 
• 

• 

the interlinking layer; 
the further identification of the required building blocks around data interoperability 
and semantics, sovereignty, trust and value creation; 
recommendations for standards for data quality, level of service and accessibility.  

Further complementary EU-funded deployment actions could be envisaged.  

Long-term perspective  

84 PrepDSpace4Mobility; https://mobilitydataspace-csa.eu/  
85 DIGITAL-2022-CLOUD-AI-03-DS-MOBILITY 

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The long-term perspective is an established data space that will enable data-sharing between 
all the different stakeholders. It will continuously evolve as it covers more and more use cases, 
participants and users. In addition, further initiatives (including legislative measures), both at 
the level of the EMDS and/or at the level of its components, may be required in the coming 
years.  Such  initiatives  could  include  fostering  agreements  among  key  ecosystems  and 
stakeholders,  and  identifying  use  cases  and  new  business  models  –  thus  demonstrating  the 
value of the EMDS and supporting the progressive integration of legacy and new initiatives. 
The  Commission  will  ensure  the  long-term  operation  and  sustainability  of  the  EMDS  by 
supporting  the set-up  of  an appropriate governance structure  and analysing solutions  for its 
economic viability. 

Summary 
To design and implement the umbrella framework of the common EMDS, the Commission 
is planning to launch or has already launched the following actions with a total funding of 
EUR 11.4 million:  

Phase 1 

•  DIGITAL CSA (12 months – from Oct 2022 to Sept 2023): EUR 1 million 

Milestones:  

o  mapping of existing mobility and transport data ecosystems 
o 

the  first  identification  of  recommended  common  building  blocks  and 
standards 

•  CEF  technical  assistance  study  (12  months  –  from  Q1  2024  to  Q1  2025): 

EUR 500 000 
Milestones: 

o  definition of the governance aspects of the EMDS framework 
o  definition of the interlinking layer 

Phase 2 

•  DIGITAL  deployment  action  (36  months  –  from  Nov  2023  to  Nov  2026): 

EUR 8 million 
Milestones: 

o  data-space pilots focused on traffic and urban mobility indicators 
•  CEF deployment (36 months – from Q1 2025 to Q1 2028): EUR 1.9 million 

Milestones: 

o  deployment of the interlinking layer  
o  further  identification  of  recommended  common  building  blocks  and 

standards 

5.  Conclusion and next steps 

The feedback  in  response  to  the call for  evidence and the various stakeholder consultations 
confirms  not  only  the  needs  and  the  large  potential  benefits,  but  also  the  challenges  of 
establishing  a common  EMDS. The development  of the EMDS  therefore  needs to  follow a 
sequenced  pathway  that  first  identifies  the  overarching  challenges  outlined  in  this 
communication and then prepares appropriate measures to implement it. The heterogeneity and 
diversity of data types and stakeholders, and the fragmentation of existing databases and data-

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sharing  standards  currently  make  any  interoperability  exercise  very  difficult.  The  existing 
ecosystems are also very different in that some of them create data while others only exchange 
data; and that some are open to all while most are available only for specific actors and some 
concern confidential data and access is restricted. Digitisation efforts in some sectors are still 
ongoing and not all relevant data have been digitised.  

Building the EMDS will be a dynamic process. Its elements will be identified, fine-tuned and 
further developed consistently aligned with other sectoral data spaces and supporting initiatives 
(e.g. the DSSC). A certain level of flexibility to add new initiatives and refine others will be 
needed. The feedback and support of all stakeholders in the EU mobility and transport 
sector will be fundamental to achieving the goals of the EMDS. The EMDS should be built 
primarily  for  and  by  the  mobility  and  transport  stakeholders,  responding  to  their  needs  and 
leveraging the existing and emerging initiatives across the EU. 

The common EMDS will help to accelerate the digital and green transformation of the EU’s 
mobility and transport sector, strengthening its performance and efficiency and contributing to 
safety,  climate  neutrality,  sustainability,  resilience  and  agility.  It  will  reduce  the  current 
fragmentation in the sector and will improve access to mobility and transport data by public 
and private actors in a seamless, non-discriminatory, trusted and harmonised way. It will also 
provide cross-sectoral benefits via its synergies with other sectoral data spaces. 

A functioning EMDS  will bring significant advantages for Member States, all relevant 
public authorities, market actors and the general public. Enabling access to and sharing of 
relevant mobility and transport data can support the making of transport policy and increase 
cross-border  connectivity,  thus  contributing  to  economic  growth.  Simplified  access  to 
comprehensive  data  facilitates  informed  decisions  on  infrastructure  and  transportation 
planning,  thus  resulting  in  more  efficient  systems.  Market  actors  can  seize  new  business 
opportunities through data-sharing, forming partnerships and integrating services for improved 
coordination.  Real-time  information  optimises  private  and  public  actors’  operations,  thus 
ensuring  compliance  with  regulations.  Ultimately,  passengers,  commuters  and  travellers 
benefit from an improved and more inclusive travel experience with efficient transportation 
systems,  real-time  updates,  enhanced  safety,  sustainability  and  accessibility  through  system 
integration and multimodality. 

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