Unlocking the Data Economy: The EU Data Act in Practice – State of Play, Regulatory Interplay, and Future Ambitions

  • Panel
  • Café
  • Thursday 21.05 — 16:00 - 17:15

Organising Institution

Dutch Association for AI Lawyers (VAI-A)

Netherlands

The Dutch Association for AI Lawyers (VAI-A) is the first association in Europe specifically for lawyers with an interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Its aim is to acquire and disseminate knowledge about the legal aspects of AI.
  • Academic 2
  • Business 3
  • Policy 1
The Data Act, in force since September 2025, is reshaping Europe’s data economy by introducing new rules for fairness, access, and innovation. This panel brings together experts from academia, industry, and legal practice to explore its early real‑world impact, the challenges emerging in implementation, and how it interacts with the broader EU digital rulebook, including the GDPR, DSA, DMA and AI Act. We will discuss practical issues faced by manufacturers, cloud providers and data users; the complexities of overlapping regulatory obligations; and the implications for competitiveness and compliance. Finally, the panel will consider the Data Act’s forward‑looking role as a foundation for future European data‑sharing frameworks, from financial and health data spaces to sector‑specific legislation, and assess whether it is delivering on its promise to enable innovation while safeguarding rights and reducing burdens on businesses.

Questions to be answered

  1. What early implementation challenges are organisations facing under the Data Act, and how are different sectors adapting in practice?
  2. To what extent does the Data Act support or hinder Europe’s AI and data‑driven innovation ecosystem?
  3. How will future EU data‑sharing frameworks—such as financial, health and in‑vehicle data spaces—build on the Data Act’s foundations?
  4. Is the Data Act truly empowering Europe’s data economy, or is it at risk of becoming the EU’s most ambitious regulatory overreach yet?

Moderator

Joost Gerritsen

Utrecht University - Netherlands

Joost Gerritsen is the CEO and co-founder of Digibeetle, the knowledge platform that helps supervisory authorities, law firms, and academics navigate the EU Digital Rulebook. A lawyer with over 15 years of experience in data protection, AI, and technology law, he is also co-founder of the Association of AI Lawyers (VAI-A) and an affiliate researcher at Utrecht University's Data School.

Speaker

Dr Laura Drechsler

KU Leuven - Belgium

Since 1 January 2024, Laura is an Assistant Professor at KU Leuven for data law as well as a researcher for the Belgian State Archives as part of a FED-tWIN project, via which she is studying the intersection of EU data protection law with EU data law from a human rights perspective.

Speaker

Berend van der Eijk

Bird & Bird - International

Berend is a Partner in Bird & Bird’s international Data Protection and Data Regulation practices. He advises technology-driven and data-rich clients on global and domestic data compliance, technology contracting and enforcement, and regularly leads complex investigations and cross-border incident responses. He also advises on key EU digital strategy regulations, including the Data Act, NIS2 and the Cyber Resilience Act, and the data aspects of PSD2/PSR. Berend is in the editorial board of the Journal for Internet Law (Tijdschrift voor Internetrecht) and speaks and writes on all things data.

Speaker

Georgia Bakatsia

EDPS - International

Georgia Bakatsia is a Legal Officer at the Supervision and Enforcement Unit of the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS). Her work focuses on the provision of advice and guidance concerning the application of the EU data protection framework applicable to EU institutions, agencies, and bodies. She previously worked at the European Commission and in EU public affairs, with a focus on data protection and digital policy.