High value datasets: What has changed and what will come next
A brief update on EU rules and real-world implementation
The EU framework for high-value datasets (HVDs) has moved from planning to practice. Since 2024, the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 has applied across all Member States, setting rules on how specific public sector datasets must be published and reused. The regulation builds on the Open Data Directive and focuses on six categories with high social and economic potential: geospatial data, earth observation and environment, meteorological data, statistics, company ownership, and mobility data.
Under the regulation, public bodies are mandated to make designated HVDs available free of charge, in machine-readable formats, and through APIs and bulk downloads where relevant. The aim is to support cross-border reuse and reduce technical and legal barriers for innovators, researchers and public authorities. These requirements apply alongside existing rules on personal data protection, confidentiality, and intellectual property.
In practice, the implementation is progressing but is lacking evenness. Recent reporting and best practice studies show that while some Member States already provide fully API-enabled HVDs, others face challenges around technical infrastructure, licensing alignments and coordination across institutions. To support compliance, the European data community has published guidance on metadata standards, APIs and reports, including dedicated documentation for data providers.
To help users navigate this evolving landscape, our portal highlights high-value datasets published by national and European authorities, with direct links to APIs, metadata, and reuse information. Explore the available HVDs and see how they are being used in practice. Take the opportunity to maximise the impact and reuse of public data across Europe, whilst complying with EU rules.
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