The European Register for Protected Data: Public sector data at your
fingertips
The European Union has created a European register that helps people
discover public sector datasets which are not able to be shared as
open data. The European Register for Protected Data held by the Public
Sector (ERPD)
[https://data.europa.eu/sites/default/files/course/v1.3_ERPD_Technical%20recommendations%20for%20member%20states_Harvesting%20guidelines.pdf]
is available through the European Data Portal
[https://data.europa.eu/en] and supports the reuse of valuable data
while respecting privacy, confidentiality, and intellectual property
rules. 

The register was created under the Data Governance Act
[https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=43ae3dcc09d6af2e187d2234cbfe9ac7eddae4295c5233965bbf2c27453b7e02JmltdHM9MTc3NTY5MjgwMA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=4&fclid=104a5717-23b3-6a2c-3933-428a225e6b5b&psq=data+governance+act&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly9ldXItbGV4LmV1cm9wYS5ldS9lbGkvcmVnLzIwMjIvODY4L29qL2VuZw],
which recognises that some information held by public bodies, such as
health, mobility, or business data, cannot be published openly.
Instead, public authorities publish metadata explaining what data
exists, who holds it, and how access can be requested. The ERPD acts
as a European-level access point that brings this information together
from across the EU. 

To make the ERPD work, each country sets up a national single
information point. These national services feed structured metadata
into the European register hosted on the European Data Portal. The
portal already brings together over one million datasets from across
Europe and now also includes a new layer of information on protected
data. The use of Common European Standards
[https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=f332ebb5944e41e1d40da7dd7d66144024b6ce5a23e13936c274990b4f7eaebaJmltdHM9MTc3NTY5MjgwMA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=4&fclid=104a5717-23b3-6a2c-3933-428a225e6b5b&psq=common+european+standards&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuY2VuY2VuZWxlYy5ldS9ldXJvcGVhbi1zdGFuZGFyZGl6YXRpb24vZXVyb3BlYW4tc3RhbmRhcmRzLw]
ensure that the information can be searched and compared across
countries. 

The register is aimed at researchers, businesses, journalists, and
public bodies looking for data that could support innovation or work
in the public interest. By improving transparency and discoverability,
the ERPD supports responsible data reuse without weakening legal
protections. Users can explore the register via the European Data
Portal and contact national authorities to learn more about access
conditions 

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[https://data.europa.eu/dashboard/en/community/collaboration-channel]. 

Publication Date/Time
2026-04-20T08:00:00+00:00
The European Data Portal brings together information on public sector
datasets that cannot be fully open