Thursday

28th Mar 2024

EU data supervisor wants greater powers

  • The European Data Protection Supervisor wants greater say on data protection issues in the EU institutions (Photo: Asteris Masouras)

The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), Peter Hustinx, has unveiled a two-year strategy aiming to promote a “data protection culture,” increase oversight of EU institutions, and cut red tape.

Speaking at an event in Brussels alongside EU justice commissioner Vivianne Reding and EU home affairs commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom, Hustinx on Tuesday (22 January) said the strategy is designed to make the EDPS more efficient and effective.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

“All EU institutions are bound now by the fundamental rights to privacy and protection of personal data, also when they process these data themselves,” said Hustinx.

The accelerated use of the Internet coupled with the increased collection of personal information online must be addressed with proper data protection rules, said Hustinx.

The EDPS wants to generate more awareness about the issue within the EU institutions and is proposing guidelines to help lawmakers when they design new legislation.

Closer working relations with the EU institutions and more on-the-spot visits and inspections are also foreseen.

“I am happy to report that we are present at [European] parliament meetings - most of the time,” said Hustinx.

The supervisor praised the working relationship with the European Commission and welcomed the regular invitations to informal meetings.

But the EU Council - where member states are represented - is a different matter, he noted.

The EDPS is excluded from regular Council meetings and unlike most national data protection supervisors, Hustinx is not invited to sit on the Council’s data protection working groups.

“I issue a challenge to the Council today, to treat us as a grown-up institution and a trusted partner,” said Hustinx.

Given the limited resources and budget restraints, the supervisor said the EDPS will need to narrow in its efforts on high priority and high risk cases. Focus areas include e-health, financial sector reform, and the expansion of the policing activities throughout the Union.

The EDPS says the more limited scope should alleviate some of the supervisor’s heavy case-load.

Commission right to intervene

For her part, Reding noted that the EDPS strategy conforms to her vision of creating a data protection culture.

“It is our common goal, our common priority,” said the justice commissioner.

But she also said that the Brussels executive should have the right to suspend decisions of a data protection authority “as a measure of last resort” under a so-called "consistency mechanism."

The mechanism is part of Reding’s data regulation proposal, which she introduced in January 2012 and which would only be applied to cases where conformity with EU law is doubtful.

“The commission has no intention of becoming a super data protection authority, that is not our job and it cannot be our job,” said Reding.

EU data protection rules 'on schedule' despite delay

Despite not having begun formal deliberations in committee, the European Parliament is on course to define its position on the EU's new data protection regime by mid-2013, according to data privacy expert Sophie In't Veld.

EU Parliament set to sue EU Commission over Hungary funds

The European Parliament will likely take the European Commission to court for unblocking more than €10bn in funds for Hungary last December. A final nod of approval is still needed by European Parliament president, Roberta Metsola.

EU Commission clears Poland's access to up to €137bn EU funds

The European Commission has legally paved the way for Poland to access up to €137bn EU funds, following Donald Tusk's government's efforts to strengthen the independence of their judiciary and restore the rule of law in the country.

Opinion

Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers

The UN could launch an independent international investigation into Navalny's killing, akin to investigation I conducted on Jamal Khashoggi's assassination, or on Navalny's Novichok poisoning, in my role as special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, writes the secretary-general of Amnesty International.

Opinion

I'll be honest — Moldova's judicial system isn't fit for EU

To state a plain truth: at present, Moldova does not have a justice system worthy of a EU member state; it is riven with corruption and lax and inconsistent standards, despite previous attempts at reform, writes Moldova's former justice minister.

Latest News

  1. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  2. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  3. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  4. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  5. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult
  6. EU unveils plan to create a European cross-border degree
  7. How migrants risk becoming drug addicts along Balkan route
  8. 2024: A Space Odyssey — why the galaxy needs regulating

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us