The DGA will also support the establishment and development of common European data spaces in strategic areas, involving both private and public actors, in sectors such as health, environment, energy, agriculture, mobility, finance, or public administration.
It is in the field of health that the European legislator wanted to create the first common European data space. The European Health Data Space (EHDS) is an initiative of the European Union to create a secure and unified framework for the sharing of health data between Member States. It aims to improve care, boost innovation and strengthen cooperation on health data in Europe.
Its purpose is threefold:
- empowering citizens to maintain control over and facilitate the exchange of their health data in the context of healthcare services in the EU (primary use of data);
- make possible a single market for electronic health record systems; and finally;
- establish a reliable and efficient system for re-using health data in the context of, for example, research or policy-making.
The European Health Data Space was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 5 March 2025. This Regulation entered into force on 26 March 2025, marking the beginning of the transitional phase linked to its progressive application.