BRUSSELS, May 29 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission published a new guidance on the interaction of free flow of non-personal data with the EU data protection rules on Wednesday.

As part of the Digital Single Market strategy, the new "Regulation on the free flow of non-personal data", which has started to apply in the Member states, will allow data to be stored and processed everywhere in the EU without unjustified restrictions, the Commission said in a press release.

Today's guidance aims to help users -- in particular small and medium-sized enterprises -- understand the interaction between these new rules and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), especially when datasets are composed of both personal and non-personal data.

"By 2025 the data economy of the EU27 is likely to provide 5.4 percent of its GDP, equivalent to 544 billion euros. By removing forced data localisation restrictions, we give more people and businesses the chance to make the most out of data and its opportunities," Vice-President for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip said in the press release.

"Today's guidance will now give full clarity on how free-flow of non-personal data interacts with our strong personal data protection rules," Ansip added.

Together with the GDPR, which started to apply one year ago, the new "Regulation on the free flow of non-personal data", provides for a stable legal and business environment on data processing. It increases legal certainty and trust for businesses and makes it easier for SMEs and start-ups to develop new innovative services.

The guidance gives practical examples on how the rules should be applied when a business is processing datasets composed of both personal and non-personal data.

It also explains the concepts of personal and non-personal data, including mixed datasets; lists the principles of free movement of data and the prevention of data localisation requirements under both -- the GDPR and the free flow of non-personal data regulation; and covers the notion of data portability under the regulation on the free flow of non-personal data.

The Commission presented the framework for the free flow of non-personal data in September 2017 to unlock the full potential of the European Data Economy and the Digital Single Market strategy.