Ms Kroes proposed widening a 2003 European directive on the re-use of public sector information to make it a "general rule" that all documents produced by public bodies can be re-used for any purpose, and that public bodies should not be allowed to levy charges for their data apart from the cost of meeting the specific request.
In the digital age, this will normally be zero.
The new rules, which could come in to force by 2013 if the directive is approved by member states and the European Parliament, would also require museums, libraries and public archives to open their data for free re-use.