Estonia to establish the world’s first data embassy in Luxembourg

Prime Minister of Estonia Jüri Ratas i and Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel i signed an agreement on housing data and information systems between the two countries, thereby creating the world’s first data embassy. The data embassy is expected to start work at the beginning of 2018.

“Digital issues are also important and central to Estonia and Luxembourg during the upcoming Estonian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. All the more, I am glad that we signed an agreement in Luxembourg today, serving as the pioneer in the field of transnational digital cooperation both in Europe and throughout the world,” Prime Minister Ratas said.

“This is the first data embassy in the world. Its establishment is part of the Estonian general strategy of data management, and fundamentally a double guarantee to our data and services,” Prime Minister Ratas explained.

“A majority of daily-open services in Estonia are digital. Data security and cybersecurity are generally crucial from the perspective of both people’s confidence and the functioning of services. It is also an important part of so-called daily digital hygiene in increasingly digitising societies,” Prime Minister Ratas said.

According to the Estonian Prime Minister, Luxembourg has the technical capability to back up Estonian data at a high security level in data embassies. “Estonia is the world’s first country that uses this method to double-secure its digital consistency, in close cooperation with Luxembourg,” Prime Minister Ratas said.

The meeting of the Prime Ministers also focused on the future of the European Union, and the topics of the European Council meeting, which takes place this week, as well as the issues of the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. “Estonia's most important task in the second half of the year is to bring the European Union closer to its citizens, as more unified and determined. We need to fulfil our promises and proceed with a positive programme,” Prime Minister Ratas said.

Prime Minister Ratas also invited his Luxembourg colleague to the digital-themed summit that will take place in Tallinn on 29 September.