Full name: Directive (EU) 2019/1024 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on open data and the re-use of public sector information (recast)

(Link to original text)

Type: Directive

Objective and key elements:

• Strengthening EU’s data economy, including AI development
• Ensuring fair competition and easy access to public sector information for start-ups and SMEs
• Enhancing cross-border innovation based on data
• Public sector data, such as statistical information and publicly funded research data, should be open by default and by design and provided (almost) free of charge without unnecessary restrictions on re-use for commercial or non-commercial purposes

Relevant to: Public-sector bodies and public entities and entities such as SMEs that wish to obtain public data.

Status: In force. On 19 November 2025, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the simplification of the digital legislative framework (the “Digital Omnibus”). The proposal would, among other things, repeal Directive (EU) 2019/1024 (the Open Data Directive) and transfer its substantive provisions into the Data Act (Regulation (EU) 2023/2854).

Guidance:

• Open data and high-value datasets: step-by-step access guide (European Commission)

(Last updated 24 August 2026)

Implemented in Finland as:

• Laki eräitä yleishyödyllisiä palveluita tuottavien yritysten tiedon uudelleenkäytöstä 712/2021
• Laki julkisin varoin tuotettujen tutkimusaineistojen uudelleenkäytöstä 713/2021
• Laki julkisen hallinnon tiedonhallinnasta annetun lain muuttamisesta 710/2021
• Laki viranomaisten toiminnan julkisuudesta annetun lain 16 ja 34 §:n muuttamisesta 711/2021

Status: In force.

Competent authority: The decision to grant access to an official document is made by the authority in possession of the document. The Digital and Population Data Services Agency maintains and develops the national and centralised open data service Suomi.fi-avoindata. The service is a directory of open data available in Finland, primarily compiled from public administrations.

(Last updated 24 August 2026)