The European Commission has recently published an online public consultation to gather information from stakeholders on the implementation, impact and scope of the Public Sector Information Directive of 2003, previous to the exam of this Directive. The consultation is open until 31 July 2008 and its results will feed into the review of the Directive.

Public bodies produce, collect and share vast amounts of information, such as meteorological, traffic and financial data, digital maps or tourist information. This valuable Public Sector Information can be the basis of new added value services, but it is often difficult for businesses and individuals to re-use it. The EU's Public Sector Information Directive of 2003 enhances the re-use of such information across the EU.

The EU's Public Sector Information Directive aims to overcome market barriers such as unfair competitive advantage for those public organisations that themselves commercialise the information they generate over private companies through for example cumbersome licensing procedures and high charges. Exclusive arrangements awarded by public organisations to one company for exploiting public sector information are to be terminated by end of 2008, thus unlocking important information resources for many re-users.

The Directive also obliges Member States to overcome lack of information on availability of public sector information and to clarify the conditions for its re-use. These measures are necessary to create a single market for information and provide European companies with a single set of rules.

Transposition of the Directive has now been completed in all 27 EU Member States, and therefore the Commission is currently evaluating the corresponding national laws in preparation of a review of the Public Sector Information Directive which is due by the end of 2008. The consultation is open until 31 July 2008 and its results will feed into the review of the Directive.

Interested parties are invited to send their comments, suggestions and replies to the public consultation either by e-mail, in the Information Society and Media Directorate-General website, or to the following address:

European Commission
Directorate-General for Information Society and Media
Unit E-4 Digital Libraries and Public Sector Information
For the attention of Mr. Javier Hernandez-Ros