Stichting EGI
EGI Foundation
EGI Foundation is the coordinating entity of the EGI Federation (abbreviated EGI).
ID: 574100518154-52
Lobbying Activity
Response to European Data Union Strategy
18 Jul 2025
EGI Foundation welcomes the opportunity to provide input to the ECs Call for Evidence towards a European Data Union Strategy. Addressing Europe's Data Infrastructure Gap: - Europes lack of large home-grown commercial technology providers poses challenges and risks for European data exploitation. Developing European data labs, in combination with and supporting advances in Artificial intelligence, represents an opportunity to increase Europes Digital Sovereignty. - Europes researchers lack sustained access to trustworthy data storage facilities and Secure Processing Environments (SPEs), which would contribute to the availability of quality sovereign research data, including for potential commercial exploitation. Strengthening EOSC as a Foundation for AI: - The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) should be recognised and supported for its potential to support the uptake of AI by increasing the ability of AI science applications to exploit research data. However, funding to support cross-country and cross-discipline scientific data reuse is required to support this vision. - Interoperability and security are both key to enabling scaled-up data use and availability. Interoperability challenges which need to be addressed include the need for federated data discovery across disparate data spaces and Research Infrastructures, the need to develop common data Visibility, Access and Use (VAU) vocabularies for use across distinct user groups and domains, and also a consistent logic for combining VAU policies when data are combined. The complexity of combining VAU policies usually increases when extra-EU data exchanges are involved. Regulatory Simplification Through Technical Innovation: - To support secure sharing of data, common frameworks need to be agreed for the Data Planes of different data providers in Data Spaces and Research Infrastructures, but also to enable data value chains across different data networks (research infrastructures, public sector and industry-based). Ultimately, collaboration is required to achieve a secure end-to-end system: an infrastructure commons. Scientific research is international in scale, so measures to reduce risks and barriers involved in EU data export and import would help to support research collaboration. Finally, greater clarity and simplicity relating to EU data regulatory requirements would reduce uncertainty and administrative burdens, and would be welcome. More information about EGI: EGI is a federation of computing and storage resource providers delivering advanced computing and data analytics services for research and innovation. The EGI Federation is coordinated by EGI Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation which coordinates the EGI infrastructure and engages with users. EGI gathers a community of experts and users in advanced scientific computing, supporting and progressing data-intensive research. Contact: EGI Foundation, Science Park 140, 1098 XG Amsterdam, info@egi.eu
Read full responseResponse to European strategy on research and technology infrastructures
22 May 2025
European e-Infrastructures - EGI/EUDAT/GÉANT/OpenAIRE/PRACE - are world-leading European grassroots digital infrastructures, providing crucial infrastructure and services which support Research Infrastructures, making possible and accelerating much ground-breaking research and innovation in Europe. e-Infrastructures are necessary for realising the full value of European research data, and in addition they give rise to innovative technological developments in their own right. These e-Infrastructures are all the more important in the current period of geopolitical change in which Europe seeks greater self-reliance. Europes e-Infrastructures are an engine for AI and an essential underpinning of European technological and scientific advancement. EGI Foundation welcomes the opportunity to provide input to the ECs Call for Evidence towards a European strategy on research and technology infrastructures. 1. Do you agree with the identified main problems and needs? We agree broadly with the main problems and needs identified by the EC, as expressed in the call for evidence paper. European e-Infrastructures provide horizontal, generic services able to support the entire spectrum of scientific disciplines, which represents an efficient investment of public funds. The European e-Infrastructures already coordinate together in the e-Infrastructures Assembly. It would be helpful for the EC to clarify: - the ECs definition of research infrastructure, to include e-Infrastructures - where high-performance computing installations fit within the definitions of research infrastructures and technical infrastructures - that e-Infrastructures are not merely the digital components of research infrastructures, but are horizontal research infrastructures in their own right and should be considered as such, on an equal basis with physical research infrastructures - where responsibility for e-Infrastructures policy and their continued funding sits within the EC. 2. Are there any additional challenges faced by research infrastructures and technology infrastructures that a European strategy should address, especially in relation to Europes main competitors? We would emphasise the importance of long-term sustainability for research infrastructures including horizontal e-Infrastructures, to provide stability and build trust from users. In the current funding landscape, it is often easier to attract funding for creating new resources (services, infrastructures) than for sustaining existing ones. This inefficiency should be addressed. In addition, a funding mechanism for the costs of cross-border and cross-domain service consumption is required, to support European research collaboration, the EOSC and the realisation of the ERA. In addition to the challenges identified, we would mention the importance of being able to access the necessary hardware and software components upon which European e-Infrastructures rely for their construction and functioning. This does not appear to be referred to in the information supporting the Call for Evidence. 3. Does the proposed set of actions adequately address these issues? Would other actions be needed at EU level? The proposed actions could be supplemented with recognition of the need for greater coordination of research funding and strategy between research performing organisations - both private and public - between member states, and also between member states and the EC.
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