News and highlights

Luxembourg’s national open data portal, data.public.lu , serves as a central hub for accessing and reusing public sector data. Launched in 2014, the platform is a key component of the country’s digital transformation strategy, offering over 2 , 300 datasets from more than 200 contributors, including government ministries, municipalities, research institutions, and private organisations . The portal is designed to make data easily accessible and reusable, supporting a wide range of sectors such as mobility, environment, public finance, and culture. It provides structured metadata, APIs, and

Cloud computing is the delivery of digital services, such as data storage, processing and software, over the internet rather than through local servers or personal devices. It allows users to access powerful computing resources on demand, enabling faster innovation, better scalability and more efficient data management. As part of the Digital Decade strategy , the European Commission is working to create a secure, sustainable and competitive cloud ecosystem. This includes shifting from centralised data centres to edge computing, where data is processed closer to the user, improving speed

Over three insightful sessions from 14-16 October 2025, the data.europa academy hosted the “Visualising Data for Impact” training series , led by renowned data visualisation expert Alberto Cairo. The series aimed to provide participants with the skills to transform complex datasets into clear, ethical, and engaging visuals. Each 90-minute episode blended theory, practical examples, and curated resources, attracting a diverse audience from public, private, and academic audiences. The first episode, Foundations of Effective Data Visualisation, introduced the principles of information design and

As the end of October approaches, Europe prepares for Halloween, a celebration filled with costumes, pumpkins, and spooky stories. Though originally rooted in Celtic traditions, Halloween has grown into a widely celebrated occasion across many European countries, blending folklore with modern festivities. Open data helps us understand how Halloween is evolving. For example, datasets on consumer spending show spikes in costume and candy purchases in October, while agricultural data highlights the seasonal demand for pumpkins. Businesses can use this data to forecast demand, manage inventory

Are you interested in learning how open data can help tackle climate change? Do not miss our upcoming data.europa academy webinar! Join us on Friday, 7 November 2025, from 10:00 to 11:00 CET, for our next session: ‘Driving climate action with open data: visual stories and impactful reuse cases’ Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges of our time, affecting ecosystems, economies, and communities across Europe and beyond. In response, the European Union has set ambitious climate goals through initiatives such as the European Green Deal , aiming to meet the targets of the Paris

The European Week of Regions and Cities 2025 brought together thousands of participants in Brussels to explore how local and regional authorities are shaping Europe’s future. With over 200 sessions covering topics from climate resilience to digital transformations, the event showcased the future of regional innovation under the theme ‘Shaping tomorrow, together’. In collaboration with Mastercard Europe, the European Data Portal team hosted a session titled ‘Cities leveraging data for impact – showcasing real-life success stories ’. In this session moderated by Katarina Kakalikova , Carlos

The ENDORSE 2025 conference, hosted by the Publications Office of the European Union in Brussels, brought together experts from across Europe to discuss the latest developments in semantic technologies, reference data, and artificial intelligence. The event served as a platform for collaboration among EU institutions, academia, and industry. Over 2 days, participants explored how semantic interoperability can enhance digital public services, improve multilingual knowledge sharing, and support cross-border collaboration. Sessions covered practical applications of AI, the role of standards in

The European Health Data Space (EHDS) Regulation , now in force, marks a major step forward in how health data is accessed and reused across the EU. A new report published on the European Data Portal explores the impact of the EHDS and its interaction with the Open Data Directive (ODD) , highlighting how these two frameworks can work together to benefit patients, healthcare providers, policymakers and researchers. The EHDS enables secure access to personal health data for care and research, while the ODD promotes the reuse of public sector data, including aggregated health statistics. Together

On Monday, 20 October, Europe joins the international community in celebrating World Statistics Day , an initiative by the United Nations held every five years to highlight the importance of high-quality, trustworthy data. This year’s theme, “Quality statistics and data for everyone”, underscores the important role of official statistics in helping societies navigate complex challenges and make informed decisions. In previous years, European Statistics Day , was celebrated on a different date than the global event. In 2025, both will be celebrated on the same day. The next European edition

The European Data Portal is committed to enhancing data literacy and making open data as accessible as possible for all users. A contributor to this mission is the Metadata Quality Assessment (MQA) tool , which plays an important role in improving the discoverability, accessibility, and usability of public sector data across Europe. Designed to evaluate the quality of metadata harvested from national and regional data portals, the MQA tool provides a structured dashboard which assesses key indicators such as compliance with DCAT-AP standards, machine readability and licensing clarity. What