What Is data.europa.eu and How Do You Use the European Data Portal?

data.europa.eu is the European Data Portal: a single point of access to open data published by European countries, EU institutions, agencies and bodies. Use it when you need to find datasets, understand how open data works in Europe, or publish your own data to a wider audience. The portal is organized around a few clear entry points — search, learning, datasets, publications and events — and most tasks start from one of them.

What you can do on the portal

The homepage and navigation expose the main functions directly:

• Search tutorial — learn how to look for datasets on the portal, either manually or programmatically.
• Open data maturity — see how your country is progressing, compare it with others, and review best practices across Europe.
• Metadata quality — explore datasets and data catalogues by theme, origin and evolution over time.
• Data stories — read insights presented through data visualisations.
• Academy — develop data literacy with free courses for all experience levels.
• Collaboration channel — connect with the open data community to discuss topics of interest.
• Bulk download — access tools for data exploration, standardisation and publishing.
• Harvest data — make your datasets accessible on the portal and reach a wider audience.
• Studies — consult in-depth analysis and research on the impact of open data in Europe.

Finding datasets

The portal offers two routes to finding data, and the search tutorial covers both:

1. Manual search — use the portal's search interface to look for datasets by keyword or theme.
2. Programmatic access — query the portal's data programmatically when you need to automate retrieval or work at scale.

A good starting point is the curated selection of popular datasets on the homepage. One example listed there is the Consolidated list of persons, groups and entities subject to EU financial sanctions, published by the Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets.

Building open data skills

The Academy's learning paths are self-paced and combine readings, videos and quizzes. You track your progress and earn certificates and digital badges as you complete each path. Three paths are described:

If you are new to open data, start with the beginner path. If your work involves licensing or compliance questions, the intermediate path is the relevant one. If you publish or maintain data catalogues, the advanced path covers the quality and interoperability side.

Publishing and working with data at scale

Two functions serve data publishers and heavier users:

• Harvest data — if you want your datasets to appear on the European Data Portal and reach a wider audience, this is the route for making them accessible.
• Bulk download — tools designed to support data exploration, standardisation and publishing, useful when working with many datasets rather than single queries.

Staying current

The portal also surfaces latest publications and upcoming events, so you can follow new studies and community activity without searching for them separately. The "portal in numbers" section gives a quick sense of scale.

Where to start

• Looking for a specific dataset: begin with the search tutorial, then try manual search before moving to programmatic access.
• New to open data: enroll in the beginner learning path.
• Dealing with licensing or legal questions: take the intermediate path.
• Publishing data: use the harvest data route.
• Working with many datasets: use the bulk download tools.