75 years ago, Robert Schuman laid the foundations of today’s European Union in his visionary appeal for a Europe bound by cooperation and solidarity. The Schuman Declaration was a transformative document that provides a blueprint for the EU’s long-standing commitment to peace, freedom and human rights, including the fundamental rights to privacy and data protection.
“For us at the EDPS - the independent institution in charge of supervising data protection matters within the EU institutions - data protection day is, well, every day.” However, for the rest of the world, data protection is mainly celebrated on 28 January every year. This date marks the signing of Convention 108 in 1981 - a milestone in its own right - since it is the first legally binding international instrument to protect privacy in the digital age.
The AI Act is now in force and the EDPS has put its plan into action.
In 2024, the EDPS proposed a correspondents network to facilitate AI governance in public administrations. Even though the AI Act does not mention or require an AI correspondent, each EU institution recognises the value of such a network and voluntarily assigned one.
Today, my office publishes its concept note on a Digital Clearinghouse 2.0, which encapsulates the EDPS’ proposal for a consistent, cooperative and coherent approach to enforcing EU laws regulating digital markets.
The EDPS and the Data Protection Officers (DPO) network of the EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies (EUIs) met for the second time this year on 27 November 2024, at the Court of Justice of the European Union, in Luxembourg.
On 18th - 19th November 2024, the EDPS co-hosted the 74th Meeting of the International Working Group on Data Protection in Technology.
Also known as the Berlin Group - of which the EDPS vouches its long-standing commitment to - this international forum brings data protection authorities and privacy experts from all across the world to examine the data protection implications of emerging technologies for a privacy-enhanced tomorrow.
On 23 - 24 September 2024, the EDPS had the privilege of co-organising the 2024 edition of the International Organisations Workshop on data protection (IOW), in partnership with the World Bank, in Washington, D.C. It was the first time that the workshop was held outside of Europe, reinforcing our commitment to enhancing the global dimension of this initiative and promoting the application of data protection principles worldwide.
One year ago, the EDPS had the pleasure and honour to take part in the first high-level event on Data-protection in the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership Region, organised by the SIGMA Programme; the Eastern Partnership Regional Fund for Public Administration; the Regional Cooperation Council and the Regional School of Public Administration.
It’s that time of the year again! On Wednesday 19 June, the EDPS and the Data Protection Officers' (DPO) network of the EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies (EUIs) met for the first traditional bi-annual meeting of the year. On this occasion, the meeting was hosted jointly by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the Committee of the Regions (CoR), in Brussels, Belgium.
It’s happening. The EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act is entering into force in the coming weeks.
AI tools have potential, bringing new opportunities and enhancing productivity across a variety of sectors and fields, such as healthcare, sustainability, scientific research, private companies, public organisations, including the EU institutions. But, AI tools also present risks; if misused, vulnerable people may be exploited, for example.