When Europe launched the Common European Agricultural Data Space (CEADS) in April 2025, it was clear that the initiative was more than another digital project.
Coordinated by ILVO (the Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food), CEADS represents a decisive step towards reshaping how the continent produces food, manages resources and prepares for a rapidly changing climate. Behind the initiative stands a coalition of 36 partners from 15 countries, working together to build a trusted, interoperable and secure ecosystem for agricultural data sharing.
The initiative forms part of the European Commission’s wider vision for sectoral data spaces, as outlined in the European Strategy for Data and the EU framework for Common European Data Spaces. These actions aim to strengthen digital sovereignty while enabling policymakers, businesses, researchers and public administrations to collaborate through data-driven services.
A new digital backbone for European agriculture
CEADS is founded on a simple idea: data becomes valuable when it is shared. Across Europe, thousands of sensors, weather stations, laboratories and research infrastructures already collect essential information. But much of this data remains siloed, incompatible or underused.
CEADS aims to change that by creating a federated environment where data sharing is governed, secure and beneficial for all actors involved. The initiative promises clear advantages:
- more efficient resource use for a sustainable agriculture,
- new digital services powered by AI,
- and greater transparency for consumers.
Luxembourg’s signature: a use case shaped around the future of wine
In Luxembourg, the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) plays a central role in bringing CEADS to life. The institute leads one of CEADS’ European use cases, dedicated to the wine sector, a choice that reflects both cultural heritage and pressing agricultural realities. Winegrowers across Europe are confronting more unpredictable weather, new diseases and heightened expectations from consumers and regulators. The use case explores how a connected data ecosystem can help the sector adapt and thrive.
The initiative is carried out in close collaboration with regional and international partners, including Netcompany in Luxembourg, reinforcing the importance of joint efforts and cross-organisation expertise.
When data meets terroir: a story unfolding across European vineyards
In vineyards from Luxembourg to Portugal, growers are feeling the impact of shifting climatic patterns. The use case tells the story of how data can become a strategic ally.
By linking localised weather and soil information, it strengthens early forecasting of diseases and climate-related risks, giving winegrowers a clearer view of what lies ahead and how to act before problems escalate.
At the same time, the project connects nutritional, fermentation and process data to make labelling and traceability more consistent and reliable across countries. Producers gain the ability to communicate more clearly about how their wine is made and what it contains.
And finally, the use case introduces a Digital Product Passport, as a data-driven service enabled by the data shared among different actors and stakeholders of the viticulture and winery value chain. QR-code-based profiles that follow each bottle from vineyard to consumer. These passports offer verified information on origin, practices and quality, building trust and highlighting the value of European wines in both local and global markets.
A collective European effort
What makes CEADS particularly compelling is its transnational nature. Climate challenges do not stop at borders and neither should data. But the need for cross-country collaboration goes even further.
By bringing together datasets from vineyards operating under similar pedo-climatic conditions, the use case enables more accurate and robust AI models for predicting diseases and other risks. It also helps identify new or emerging pests earlier, especially in cases where local datasets alone are too limited to reveal meaningful patterns. And because wine is often produced in one country and exported to many others, only a cross-country approach can deliver Digital Product Passports that reflect the full journey of each bottle from field conditions to consumer markets.
Looking ahead to 2026: broadening the ecosystem
CEADS is only at the beginning of its journey. Shortly, the initiative is expected to launch an open call to bring new use cases into the data space, inviting additional sectors and organisations to contribute to and benefit from the emerging European agricultural data ecosystem.
This expansion will broaden CEADS’ reach, stimulate innovation and diversify the data landscape feeding into Europe’s agrifood transformation.
A European project with Luxembourg’s imprint
By leading a flagship use case, LIST confirms Luxembourg’s growing influence in the digital transformation of European agriculture.
Its contribution highlights the strategic importance of combining scientific excellence, technological innovation and cross-border collaboration.
In a rapidly evolving world, CEADS offers Europe a blueprint for an agricultural sector that is more resilient, more transparent and better prepared for the future with Luxembourg quietly and decisively helping to shape that future.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
To learn more about CEADS, including its goals, forthcoming actions and latest developments, visit ceads.eu or reach out to:
- the CEADS consortium: ceads@ilvo.vlaanderen.be,
- the lead of the Luxembourg use case: mariarita.palattella@list.lu.