Data has become the new oil, powering the global economy and shaping a future where ownership and control over information matter more than ever. The European Union envisions a market worth 829 billion euros and the creation of more than 11 million specialized jobs by 2025. This vision hinges on broad access to data with safeguards that ensure wealth creation while avoiding concentration of power. Sovereign data governance means individuals and organizations decide what to share and with whom, backed by technologies and standards that enable safe and reliable data exchange.
This is precisely the aim of the Gaia initiative: to bring together private companies, technology institutes, administrations, and other players in the digital ecosystem to establish European standards that facilitate data exchange and spur the growth of this sector. The event discussed here is a yearly gathering, drawing nearly 600 experts who report on the latest developments across Europe and transform the city into a temporary data hub for a few days.
While North American and Asian tech giants still lead the global landscape, Daniel Saez, head of Spain’s Gaia center, argues for the EU’s potential. “Europe has a robust technology sector and a highly digitized market. This combination creates a business volume that attracts major U.S. tech players while generating opportunities at home,” he notes.
Saez adds that Europe’s market power supports regulatory leadership in technologies like artificial intelligence. “We won’t be left behind if the United States clarifies policy to avoid friction,” he says, responding to critics who say European regulations slow innovation.
Legislation
The conference will also scrutinize recent legislative developments, including the European Data Governance Act that recently came into force. The act introduces a data broker role charged with facilitating data flows and ensuring compliant access for potential users, while safeguarding security and expanding job opportunities through data-driven exploitation. “A dataset only gains value when it is exploited, analyzed, and processed,” Saez observes.
What is this data used for? Saez highlights two lighthouse projects under Gaia X: one in the automotive sector and another in agriculture. The aim is to provide a safe shared data space for all participants—manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and even consumers—to forecast stock outages and identify market trends. In agriculture, data exchange can estimate crop volumes, determine the best product prices based on market shifts, and anticipate how weather conditions might affect production.
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Despite a tendency for firms to guard their data, Saez notes that surveys show many are willing to share information if it improves decision-making with higher-quality insights. “The more reliable data available, the more opportunities arise for everyone. This is a win-win,” he asserts.
Regarding individuals, Saez stresses that data use can deliver more useful services to citizens, while a key European strategy goal is to give data producers sovereignty over their information, enabling decisions about sharing and pricing.
The general manager of Casa Mediterráneo, Andrés Perelló, emphasized the value Gaia X brings to regional development and cooperation.