Preventing unfair competition in the PSI economy

1. Preventing unfair competition
Girts Kebers, Lursoft

2. Why the commercial PSI market is so important?
Girts Kebers, Lursoft
Who is using the PSI?
Individuals, businesses, NGO and the public sector itself - Everyone
In terms of infrastructure, public sector information can help generate efficiency,
savings across public services and improve business decision-making.
The main economic effects of proper PSI reuse, therefore, the aim should be:
to stimulate innovation and develop new products and services,
to improve governance, increase its transparency,
to create so-called «network effects» by connecting increasing
numbers of consumers and businesses,
to reduce the difficulty for new players to enter (invest) into the market,

3. Key message by @JunckerEU. @DigitalAgendaEU
Girts Kebers, Lursoft

4. Lack of confidence to be able to compete?
Girts Kebers, Lursoft
Arthur Henry "Art" Young

5. Lack of confidence to be able to compete?
Girts Kebers, Lursoft
Neither the companies nor potential investors are looking for a place to
develop business with the most competition. Everyone is much more
confident to invest in the business, where competition is minimal or close
to zero.
Uncertainty about the future can reduce confidence, and means that
companies may postpone their investment decisions until confidence
returns.
Many companies are confident when they have to compete with other
businesses, but what happens if they have to compete with the
government?

6. Before entering the PSI market you have to know …
Girts Kebers, Lursoft
Government already competes in this market
How much money from the state budget is invested to compete with your
company? Does your company have enough resources to invest as much?
The «public task» is the monster in PSI market and it will change his face
regularly

7. 2 main ways how government unfairly competes?
Girts Kebers, Lursoft
1) By offering services in the market, already created by the private sector;
2) By limiting and restricting PSI re-use under the pretext of:
Personal data protection, lack of technical solutions, high costs, need for cost
recovery to better perform their «public task» ……

8. Does the directive deal with these problems?
Girts Kebers, Lursoft
Personal data problem - it remains to be seen what the future regulation on data
protection might bring in this perspective
The creation of a «full right to re-use» should improve the re-use of PSI, but MS are
not obliged to proactively make the data available.

9. Does the directive deal with these problems?
Girts Kebers, Lursoft
Charges (marginal costs) – directive allows exceptions for:
a) public sector bodies that are required to generate revenue to cover a substantial
part of their costs relating to the performance of their public task;
b) by way of exception documents for which the public sector body is required to
generate sufficient revenue to cover a substantial part of the costs relating to their
collection, production, reproduction and dissemination. Those requirements shall
be defined by law or by other binding rules in the Member State. In the absence of
such rules they shall be defined in line with common administrative practice;
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10. Conclusions
Girts Kebers, Lursoft
The state should not carry out commercial activities in order to provide services, or
create products that can be purchased from private companies.
May be it’s time for new Commission guidlines?
Guidlines: «Avoiding Competition with the Private Sector in PSI market»

11. Girts Kebers, Lursoft
THANK YOU!!!