Open Data comes to EU Business Registries?
This week the EU agreed upon a revision to the Directive on the re-use of public sector information. The new Directive, the Open Data and Public Sector Information Directive, will require member states to make public sector and publicly funded data open and available for re-use.
The Directive includes materials held by public sector bodies at all levels, as well as publicly funded organisations – including data filed to Member states’ Business Registrars. The aim is to increase transparency and enable fair competition, encouraging Members to make as much information as possible available for re-use for economic ends.
Increased openness and access to data will help further improve transparency, enable wide-ranging data aggregation and comparison and support the development of innovative analysis technologies. The agreement between the different legislative functions is the first, and a vital part of the process, but as Open Corporates point out, there is still water to go under the bridge. That said, this Directive is a step in the right direction and XBRL International firmly supports the increased access to financial data it should provide. The Open Data Act happened in the US last week. This Directive in Europe this week. Who’s next?
Read more about the directive on the European Commission’s website.
