Linked Data in the European Data Portal: A Comprehensive Platform for Applying DCAT-AP

Abstract

The European Data Portal (EDP) is a central access point for metadata of Open Data published by public authorities in Europe and acquires data from more than 70 national data providers. The platform is a starting point in adopting the Linked Data specification DCAT-AP, aiming to increase interoperability and accessibility of Open Data. In this paper, we present the design of the central data management components of the platform, responsible for metadata storage, data harvesting and quality assessment. The core component is based on CKAN, which is extended by the support for native Linked Data replication to a triplestore to ensure legacy compatibility and the support for DCAT-AP. Regular data harvesting and the creation of detailed quality reports are performed by custom components adressing the requirements of DCAT-AP. The EDP is well on track to become the core platform for European Open Data and fostered the acceptance of DCAT-AP. Our platform is available here: https://www.europeandataportal.eu.