The Data Act is one of the main outcomes of the European Data Strategy. Among its provisions, it sets the rules for effective switching and portability across data processing services and has interoperability at the core to realise this.
Article 35 of the Data Act defines what interoperability standards for data processing services should deliver and which technical layers they should address. It calls for open, harmonised specifications that let services of the same type work together and make data and applications portable, without adversely impacting security.
The Commission is empowered to adopt harmonised standards and open specifications by means of common specifications if standards are not sufficient, through implementing acts. Furthermore, the Commission may request European standardisation bodies to develop interoperability standards to close the current gap.
References to harmonised standards and open specifications will be published in a central Union repository, and providers will have to adapt within twelve months once a relevant standard or open specification is listed.
This study - carried out by WIK, Decision and Schuman associates - aims to assist the Commission in establishing the Union repository and to prepare for the publication of the first batch of open specifications and harmonised standards that meet the requirements specified in the Data Act. The study has developed an evaluation methodology building from the Common Assessment Method for Standards and Specifications (CAMSS) ensuring also the fulfilment of Annex II of Regulation 1025/2012 and the specific criteria laid down in the Data Act.
Following this methodology, the study identifies several open specifications that would meet the criteria and could therefore be published on the Union repository. It also provides recommendations for areas in which new standards could be developed to cover the existing gaps identified as part of the analysis.
You can download the full study report below.