Data stories

In October, the President of the European Commission Ursula Von Der Leyen announced her intention to make 2023 the ‘European Year of Skills’, including digital skills. Why does Europe need to focus on digital skills? Which steps have been taken at EU level to realise the European Year of Skills? And how does data.europa.eu contribute to this mission? The European skills gap Currently more than three-quarters of companies in the EU report difficulties to find workers with the appropriate skill set. One-quarter of Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) consider the availability of skilled

Introduction to high-value datasets In light of the growing importance of data, the European Commission has recently adopted an implementing act focused on high-value datasets on 21 December 2022. As stated by both the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, these datasets provide important benefits for society, the environment and the economy. Additionally, as hinted by their name, they are especially valuable when it comes to creating value-added services, applications and, more generally, high-quality jobs for society and the EU. The identification and definition of these

In our ‘Linking data’ series, we present EU projects that use linked open data (LOD). You may be wondering, what data is linked in their projects? Why did they decide to use LOD? What benefits does it bring? Follow the series to find out. In this episode, we are presenting the Data Catalogue Vocabulary (DCAT) and its application profile for data portals in Europe. Read on to find out what DCAT is, and how and why it uses LOD. All about metadata What is metadata? In simple words, metadata is data about data. Just like a label on a soda can provides metadata about the drink, and a library

Open dissemination of public administration data is critical to ensure the transparency and accountability of policy actions and to empower citizens in democratic processes. While a large amount of European Union data is available in textual format, the Publications Office of the European Union has also made most of this structured data openly available through semantic web technologies and links in graphs, using linked open data (LOD). However, for end users (and even for experts) LOD is still difficult to navigate. Why LOD is difficult to explore The main obstacles for exploring LOD include

In the past year, energy prices have been soaring and Europe has now entered an ‘energy crisis’. The war in Ukraine is one of the reasons for this, but it is not the only factor that explains the current situation in Europe’s energy market. Energy prices are sensitive to a range of economic, social, political and environmental factors. What is behind the soaring energy prices of today? Can open data help us to find the answer? Can open data on energy help to understand the situation and create new policies? The European energy market under pressure Before showing examples of how organisations

In our ‘Linking data’ series, we are presenting EU projects that use linked open data (LOD). What data is linked in their projects? Why did they decide to use LOD? What benefits does it bring? Follow the series to find out. In this episode, we are presenting the Kohesio platform. Read on to find out what it is, and how and why it uses LOD. EU cohesion policy The EU’s cohesion policy contributes to strengthening economic, social and territorial cohesion in the European Union. It aims to correct imbalances between EU Member States and between regions. It delivers on the European Union’s

In our ‘Linking data’ series, we are presenting EU projects that use linked open data (LOD). What data is linked in their projects? Why did they decide to use LOD? What benefits does it bring? Follow the series to find out. In this episode, we are presenting Route Compatibility Check, an application developed by the European Railway Agency (ERA). Read on to find out what it is, and how and why it uses LOD. European railway ecosystem The EU has one of the densest railway networks in the world. However, not all European countries have the same system of railway infrastructure and the same set of

(Open) data and the healthcare sector Health is one of the top priorities of the European Commission. To support healthcare in European Union (EU) Member States, EU policies and actions in public health aim to: Protect and improve the health of EU citizens; Support the modernisation of health systems and infrastructure; Improve the resilience of Europe’s health systems; and Equip EU countries to better prevent and address future pandemics. Open data to inform and support healthcare across Europe Data can give policymakers, governments, businesses and citizens information about the current

In our ‘Linking data’ series, we are presenting EU projects that use linked open data (LOD). What data is linked in these projects? Why did they decide to use LOD? What benefits does it bring? Follow the series to find out. In this episode, we are presenting the European Science Vocabulary. Read on to find out what it is and how and why it uses LOD. CORDIS – EU research and development database The Community Research and Development Information Service (CORDIS) is a multilingual platform offering access to data about EU-funded research and innovation projects. Its mission is to bring research

In our new ‘Linking data’ series, we are presenting EU projects that use linked open data (LOD). What data is linked in these projects? Why did they decide to use LOD? What benefits does it bring? Follow the series to find out. In this episode, we focus on EU reference data. Read on to find out what it is and how and why it uses LOD. What is reference data? To start, we will introduce you to some important concepts. Reference data In simple terms, reference data is data used to classify or categorise other data. A reference data vocabulary defines the values allowed to be used in a specific