A harmonised European Standard (hEN) is developed by a European Standardization Organization upon a mandate from the EU Commission to support the implementation of EU legislation. In the case of Trusted Data Transaction, it's the Article 33 of the Data Act, which addresses “Essential requirements regarding interoperability of data, of data sharing mechanisms and services, as well as of common European Data Spaces. Complying with such hEN provides a presumption of conformity with the referenced regulation or relevant parts thereof.
Why does a harmonized European Standard on Trusted Data Transactions matter?
A harmonized European Standard will help data space participants - including data providers offering data, and Data Intermediaries offering Data Exchange services - comply with the requirements set out in Article 33 of the Data Act.
Beyond compliance, the harmonized European Standard on Trusted Data Transactions will also foster trust between participants when conducting Data Transactions, and enhance interoperability within and across data spaces, contributing to a more dynamic and competitive European data-driven market.
The pivotal Trusted Data Transaction pre-standardization CEN workshop anticipated and aligned with key priorities later formalized in the 2024 annual Union work programme for European standardisation, which listed the European Trusted Data Framework as a top-three priority.
Standardization is crucial for business operations, enabling products and services to be sold and used at scale. This Standardisation request marks an important milestone towards data exchange standardization, creating trust and observability for Data Transactions, and interoperability across data spaces.
The Trusted Data Transaction pre-standardization initiative, was launched in 2023 by Dawex, Fraunhofer ISST, and TNO, and thrived the collaborative efforts of key stakeholders, including the European Commission, Gaia-X, IDSA, BDVA, Fiware Foundation, Microsoft, Airbus, EDF, Hub One, Prometheus-X, Data Spaces Support Center (DSSC), SQS and Connekt.
Additionally, July 23, 2025 marks the publication of the Trusted Data Transaction CWA Part 2 on Trustworthiness requirements.
The release of the CWA Part 2 materializes the consensus reached by a highly representative group of experts from the associative, corporate and institutional world including the active participation of the European Commission. The document provides trustworthiness requirements and guidance for all types of participants, regardless of their type or size, that are conducting trusted data transactions. Trustworthiness requirements apply to all - or specific - phases of a trusted data transaction, as defined in the CWA Part 1.
- CWA Part 1 on Trusted Data Transaction provides key definitions and concepts around the scope of trusted data transactions. This is a crucial step as it sets the foundation for defining the characteristics of trust in a data transaction and the criteria to measure it.
- CWA Part 2 on Trusted Data Transaction defines the trustworthiness requirements for trusted data transactions, through a set of foundational principles, general trustworthiness requirements that apply to all phases of a transaction and specific trustworthiness requirements for each individual phase.
Read our blog on the initiatives and the impacts of JTC25 & Trusted Data Transaction standardization
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