Neelie Kroes, Vizepräsidentin der EC und zuständig für die Digital Agenda hat am Montag, den 12. Dezember 2011 die Vorschläge der Europäischen Kommission zur Revision der Richtlinie 2003/98/EG, das sogenannte “Open Data Package” vorgestellt. Ebenfalls wurden heute die Ergebnisse einer lange erwartete POPSIS Studie zu Preismodellen für Daten des öffentlichen Sektors veröffentlicht. Hier ist die Videoübertragung und Transcript der Rede von Frau Kroes und hier Kontext und Links zu den Studien auf der Webseite der Kommission:

Public sector information (PSI) is the single largest source of information in Europe. It is produced and collected by public bodies and includes digital maps, meteorological, legal, traffic, financial, economic and other data. Most of this raw data could be re-used or integrated into new products and services, which we use on a daily basis, such as car navigation systems, weather forecasts, financial and insurance services.

Re-use of public sector information means using it in new ways by adding value to it, combining information from different sources, making mash-ups and new applications, both for commercial and non-commercial purposes. Public sector information has great economic potential. According to a survey on existing findings on the economic impact of public sector information conducted by the European Commission in 2011 (Vickery study) the overall direct and indirect economic gains are estimated at €140bn throughout the EU. Increase in the re-use of PSI generates new businesses and jobs and provides consumers with more choice and more value for money.

In 2003, the EU adopted the Directive on the re-use of public sector information (PSI Directive). It has introduced a common legislative framework regulating how public sector bodies should make their information available for re-use in order to remove barriers such as discriminatory practices, monopoly markets and a lack of transparency.

In December 2011, the Commission presented an Open Data Package consisting of :

• A Communication on Open Data (provisional version), DE Version.
• A proposal for a revision of the Directive (provisional version), DE Version.
• A proposal for a revision of the Commission’s rules on re-use of the documents it holds (provisional version), DE Version.

The draft proposal for a revision of the Directive proposes to further open up the market for services based on public-sector information, by

• including new bodies in the scope of application of the Directive such as libraries (including university libraries), museums and archives;
• limiting the fees that can be charged by the public authorities at the marginal costs as a rule;
• introducing independent oversight over re-use rules in the Member States;
• making machine-readable formats for information held by public authorities the norm.

The draft Directive will now be discussed by the Union legislator composed of the European Parliament and the Council.

More information on the proposed revision of the Directive can be found here. In preparation for the revision of the Directive, the Commission has commissioned the following studies and made an impact assessment:

• A review of recent studies on PSI re-use and related market developments, by Graham Vickery
• An “Assessment of the different models of supply and charging for public sector information” Executive Summary, Models of Supply and Charging for Public Sector Information, Apps market snapshot, Open Data Portals
• A study on PSI-re-use in the cultural sector.

Impact Assessment accompanying the proposal for Directive amending Directive 2003/98/EC on the re-use of public sector information

• Full Report, Opinion of the Impact Assessment Board
• Executive Summary EN | DE

Siehe dazu auch den Artikel von Jonathan Grey in Guardian Datablog: Opening Europe’s Data