European cloud providers and industry data space associations have launched a joint initiative to accelerate the large-scale adoption of trusted data sharing across Europe. The objective is clear: enable thousands of organisations, particularly Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), to actively participate in secure and interoperable data ecosystems.This coordinated effort aims to reduce technical complexity, lower entry barriers, and promote open and interoperable solutions that support the growth of sector-specific and cross-sectoral data spaces. By aligning infrastructure providers and data space initiatives, Europe moves closer to a scalable and competitive data economy built on trust.
TrustED as a Strategic Enabler of Secure Interoperability
As a European project dedicated to self-sovereign identity, privacy-preserving technologies, and trustworthy data exchange, TrustED is strongly aligned with the objectives of this initiative.TrustED contributes to the emerging data space landscape in several concrete ways:
- Strengthening Trust Through Identity and AuthorizationTrustED develops interoperable identity and access management mechanisms that allow organisations to verify credentials and attributes securely. These capabilities are essential for ensuring that only authorised and trustworthy participants can access and exchange data within data spaces.
- Privacy-Preserving Data SharingThrough advanced privacy-enhancing technologies, including selective disclosure and cryptographic verification mechanisms, TrustED enables secure data transactions without unnecessary exposure of sensitive information. This supports compliance with European data protection requirements while maintaining operational efficiency.
- Governance and Policy EnforcementTrustED supports transparent governance models, ensuring that consent, usage policies, and accountability mechanisms are embedded directly into data exchange processes. This strengthens legal certainty and reinforces confidence among participants.
- Facilitating SME AdoptionOne of the main goals of the European initiative is to onboard thousands of SMEs into trusted data spaces. TrustED can help reduce adoption barriers by providing modular components and interoperable frameworks that simplify integration into secure digital ecosystems.
Building the Foundation for Europe’s Data Economy
The joint effort by cloud providers and data space associations reflects a broader European ambition: to establish a competitive, sovereign, and innovation-driven digital economy. Scalable trusted data sharing is a cornerstone of this vision.By contributing secure identity frameworks, privacy-preserving mechanisms, and interoperable governance models, TrustED reinforces the technical and trust foundations required for data spaces to succeed across sectors such as healthcare, mobility, manufacturing, energy, and public administration.In a rapidly evolving regulatory and technological landscape, collaboration between infrastructure providers, industry initiatives, and research projects like TrustED is essential to ensure that Europe’s data economy grows on a basis of trust, security, and user sovereignty.
TrustED has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreementNo. 101168467