Socialists and Democrats demand that the European Data Strategy is transparent, trustworthy and human-centric, respecting human rights, workers’ rights and democracy. This is the final outcome agreed upon today by the European Parliament, under the lead of S&D rapporteur Miapetra Kumpula-Natri.

Miapetra Kumpula-Natri MEP, European Parliament rapporteur on the file, said:

“The Data Strategy is at the heart of Europe being fit for digital age. At the moment, only the biggest players and tech giants have the full capacity to benefit from data economy and Artificial Intelligence to grow their business and revenue. When more and more data is created e.g. from strong European industry, we do not want to leave it in the hands of a few, but innovations and value creation needs to benefit European companies, the public sector and individuals. We need data out of the silos. Interoperability, data portability and standardisation will be at the core of a European new decentralised model of data sharing that is based on fair market and reciprocity. We need to use data to improve services on health, research, learning and traffic, throughout all the sectors. We need to give concrete tools, especially for European SMEs to take control over data they produce, and gain benefit from it in return. Therefore, we are calling on the Commission to present the Data Act as promised.

“At the same time, we need to understand the societal development happening as we speak: digitalisation is changing the way we live, act and even think. The EU must lead the development based on our values; empower individuals and the public sector to use data for better, real-time services, climate action and building quality jobs. The S&D Group has ensured that the EP Data Strategy is strong on climate action, human-centric and human rights. The report also underlines that workers’ should have the right to know where and how their data is collected, used, stored or shared, and that the disproportionate and undue surveillance at work should be prevented.”

Dan Nica MEP, S&D spokesperson on research, said:

“Our Group has managed to set the ground for EU data policies that would enable a good environment for new real-time services and policy making. It is in everyone’s interest that European data economy is transparent, trustworthy, human-centric, and respects human rights, workers’ rights and democracy. Data protection and respect of fundamental rights should always be ensured, and data economy should create quality employment, without lowering working conditions.

“The Data Strategy must also support sustainability, the Green Deal, and contribute to the Union’s climate targets. The free flow of data in the Europe must remain the founding principle in future policies, under the condition that data protection, privacy, security and other public policy interests are met. This will entail challenges related to data quality, bias, protection and security or unfair trading conditions, which will have to be addressed in the future. We need to create an infrastructure where non-personal data can be shared, in order to stimulate generators of high-quality data, such as education institutions, and governments, to share it easily. Europe needs to make significant investments in the accessibility of open high-quality non-personal data sets. Setting up a European network of data centres and adopting appropriate regulation for the use of this data for economic and social benefits is a priority. ”

S&D MEP Christel Schaldemose said:

“Data is an essential resource for economic growth, competitiveness, innovation and job creation in the EU. We must therefore create a genuine, innovative and fair single market for data in order to provide a level playing field for data sharing, while at the same time protecting consumers and European data protection rules. Our message to the Commission is clear: the new initiatives should support an efficient, responsible and secure access to data that creates real value for European consumers and businesses.”

S&D MEP Marina Kaljurand said:

“The European Data Strategy adopted today contains a clear framework for upcoming legislation on data and AI and how it should be based on the protection of privacy and personal data. It shows how we can derive the benefits of non-personal and irreversibly anonymised data by setting EU and global standards which ensure that rules on data sharing are always based on privacy, transparency, the respect of fundamental rights, and strong cybersecurity. This strategy will shape future EU rules and will guide our work in the European Parliament on the Data Governance Act and upcoming files on AI.”