European Commissioner for Europe fit for the Digital Age Margrethe Vestager speaks during a media conference on European Data Governance at EU headquarters in Brussels, Nov 25, 2020. (STEPHANIE LECOCQ, POOL VIA AP)

BRUSSELS - In an effort to avoid EU firms and citizens relying on data from Asian and US rivals, the European Commission is proposing new rules to allow sharing of public and personal data with businesses and research organizations.

The move follows a broader data strategy by the Commission in February to create a single European data market, hoping that pooling industrial expertise will help build technology firms to rival Silicon Valley

The European Union executive hopes that this could lead to improvements ranging from personalised health treatments, to better tackling climate change or developing precision farming techniques.

“Data should be accessible and the sharing of such data should be secure,” European Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager told a news briefing on Wednesday.

ALSO READ: EU court rejects mass data retention by govts

The Commission proposed a new model based on the neutrality and transparency of so-called “data intermediaries”, which would organize data sharing or pooling, to increase trust.

“For data to circulate, we need (people) to have confidence,” EU industry chief Thierry Breton said.

This follows a broader data strategy by the Commission in February to create a single European data market, hoping that pooling industrial expertise will help build technology firms to rival Silicon Valley.

Having lagged the first wave of digital innovation, particularly in consumer markets such as social media, online shopping and smartphones, the EU sees itself in a battle for industrial data and its potential.

READ MORE: EU court strikes down EU-US data transfer tool in FB case

However, EU bodies will be subject to strict requirements such as not being able to sell the data to another company or to use it to develop their own product based.

The EU said the new measures could increase the annual economic value of data sharing from 7 billion euros (US$8.33 billion) up to 11 billion euros by 2028.