Brussels, 4 June 2018 – BSA | The Software Alliance fully supports the draft report by rapporteur and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Anna Maria Corazza Bildt (EPP, SE) on the Free Flow of Non-Personal Data Regulation proposal. The rapporteur has achieved the goal of delivering clear, simple, legally certain and future proof rules that are applicable in real life, paving the way for robust European and international data flows.

The inclusion of public procurement, public sector and mixed data sets in the scope of the Regulation is a significant achievement. By ensuring that this Regulation is aligned with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), it will provide a coherent set of rules covering all categories of data, leading to a “Single EU Dataspace”.

The European Parliament proposal also strikes an excellent balance between free movement of data and the exception for public security, in line with the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the Treaties. The draft report achieves the objective of safeguarding the proportionality principle, as well as providing for clear rules for the public security exception.

Data portability is a complex and important issue in this space, and the rapporteur found an excellent compromise with language highlighting objectives and future guidelines, whilst ensuring that industry is allowed the necessary time to implement the code.

“Innovation and economic growth benefit from clear rules and guidelines, and the draft report moves in the right direction to support industry and SMEs. The proposed text will constitute the benchmark for future European Union engagement in the space of data flows, not just in the EU but also in the context of future trade negotiations and international agreements. This comprehensive and robust legislation proposal will have a positive impact on innovation and the overall European Union economy by encouraging the development and uptake of new services across the EU” says Thomas Boué, Director General, Policy – EMEA.

We look forward to working alongside our EU partners for a successful and effective Regulation and we encourage all parties to quickly adopt the text in the upcoming trialogues” concludes Boué.