We are approaching the holiday season, a period of excess and over-indulgence followed by doomed resolutions to live more healthily and frugally in the New Year.

Data protection of course has always been about dignity and restraint. It is based on the idea that respect for humans means being careful with what you do with information about them. 

Data Protection Officers (DPO) from the EU institutions and bodies met today in London at the 42nd meeting of the Network of DPOs, which was hosted by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

Henry Kissinger, in one of perhaps the most famous quotes which were never actually uttered by the person to whom they are attributed, is alleged to have complained that when he wanted to telephone the European Union he didn’t know what number to ring.  I am often asked for my reflections on the transatlantic relationship under the new administration, and in response I have suggested that indeed it would be helpful to have a nominated points of contact for questions of privacy and data protection law.

In March this year, my respected colleague Ventislav Karadjov, Chairman of the Commission for Personal Data Protection of the Republic of Bulgaria (CPDP) and I announced that we will jointly be hosting the 40th annual International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners in October 2018.