Following many years of intense political debate on data protection in the European Union, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will finally become law across the EU in May 2018 and is designed to be the cornerstone of data protection in Europe. It sets out directly applicable rules on the rights of data subjects, the duties of those organisations that demand the processing of personal data and those that do the processing (data controllers and processors), international data transfers and the powers of supervisory authorities.
The August 2015 edition of the EDPS Newsletter covers EDPS recommendations on the reform of EU data protection legislation, the publication of the 2014 EDPS Annual Report, the EDPS Opinion on Mobile Health and many other EDPS activities.
This report sets out the Strategy adopted by the EDPS for the period 2015-2019. As data protection affects almost every EU policy area and is a key factor in legitimising and increasing trust in EU policies, the new EDPS Strategy aims to provide a framework through which to promote a culture of data protection in the European institutions. It also promotes the idea of toolkits for policymakers to help them develop innovative solutions to data protection challenges.
Europe’s big opportunity, EDPS recommendations on the EU’s options for data protection reform
Presentation of the EDPS 2014 Annual Report during the meeting of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, speech of Giovanni Buttarelli, European Parliament, Brussels
2014 was a year of transition for the EDPS, marked by the delayed selection and appointment of a new Supervisor and Assistant Supervisor. Despite the resulting uncertainty, the EDPS under the calm authority and tireless efforts of Peter Hustinx, whose 10-year tenure as EDPS drew to a close in 2014, continued to make significant progress in mainstreaming data protection in EU policymaking.
Building on this legacy, the EDPS' priorities for 2015, as part of the five year strategy of the dynamic team of new Supervisors, is to help the EU to speak with one voice on data protection to uphold the rights and interests of the individual in our digitalised society. To this end, the adoption of the data protection reform will be a significant milestone for Europe and an important message to the rest of the world.