The Data Act has now passed the watchful eye of Parliament and Council and both have released their respective positions. In anticipation of the trilogue discussions, CEMA calls for less restrictive wording in relation to possible future sectorial legislation on data spaces.

To build an agricultural data space there needs to be trust from all stakeholders that they can get their rights on data but also that they can cope with their rights and obligations. We like to build on the ‘Code of Conduct on agricultural data sharing by contractual agreement’ with the farmer as product user (product or service) in a central role to claim its rights, but with clarity on certain restrictions on data as linked to IPR/trade secrets and safety and security of machinery/equipment. To that end, the freedom for sectorial legal initiatives as indicated by the European Parliament in the recitals, should be repeated in Article 40 of the Data Act, that limitation of access to data can be further imposed by dedicated sector legislation, not only to data holders, but also data recipients and product users. As is clear from the Code of Conduct, it is not because you have all the rights on data, that you have full access rights to that data.

CEMA calls upon legislators to ensure that the future of an agricultural data space can be established in the spirit of the Data Act but taking into account the specificities of the sector and with the necessary freedom to predetermine certain rights and limitations of access to any stakeholder. This position is relevant beyond the agricultural sector and our concerns have been taken onboard by the overall technological industry representatives.