Heiko Richter
Data plays a crucial role for society. Accordingly, building a‘single market for data’by increasing theavailability of public and private data ranks high on the EU policy agenda. But when advancing legal datasharing regimes, there is an inevitable need to balance public and private interests. While the EuropeanCommission continues to push for more binding rules on data sharing between private businesses, publicundertakings are already covered by mandatory rules. Exploring how the law addresses their data offersvaluable lessons on the reconciliation of market reasoning with the public interest. In particular, this arti-cle inquires into the recast Open Data and Public Sector Information Directive, the Data GovernanceAct, and different national rules which regulate access to and re-use of public undertakings' data. It iden-tifies five striking characteristics and discusses theirpotential and limitations for regulating data sharingby private undertakings. The implications serve as a guidepost for advancing the wider debate on build-ing a single market for data in the EU. Some of them are already reflected in the upcoming EU Data Act.