EU member states are taking different approaches to designating the authorities responsible for enforcing the Data Governance Act (DGA) and the Data Act. As of August 2026, almost all of the 21 surveyed member states had designated the relevant competent authorities under the DGA, while only six had designated competent authorities for the Data Act.

Key findings

• All surveyed member states have designated all the competent authorities under the DGA, except the Czech Republic and Slovakia, where proposals are still pending.
• Telecoms regulators have a prominent role in Data Act enforcement, acting or being proposed as the single competent authority, data coordinator, or authority responsible for cloud-related provisions in several member states.

Background

The Data Governance Act applies since 24 September 2023 and requires EU member states to designate competent bodies and authorities for the reuse of protected public-sector data, data intermediation services and recognised data altruism organisations. Member states were required to notify the Commission of the identity of those competent authorities by this date.

The Data Act entered into application on 12 September 2025 and requires member states to designate one or more competent authorities for the enforcement of the regulation. When member states designate more than one authority, they should designate a data coordinator.

The European Commission's Digital Omnibus proposal, presented in November 2025, would repeal the DGA and transfer relevant provisions into the Data Act, but would not change the rules on competent authorities.

What the content covers

Cullen International’s latest Benchmark compares the authorities designated or proposed to enforce the Data Governance Act and the Data Act across 21 EU member states, including their respective roles and responsibilities.

Scope

Region: European Union
Countries covered: 21 EU member states
Policy area: Data regulation and enforcement
Source type: Benchmark
Relevant legislation or policy initiative: Data Governance Act, Data Act and the Digital Omnibus proposal
Last updated: August 2026

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