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.

The 41st meeting between the EDPS and the DPOs from the EU institutions and bodies took place yesterday at the European Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice (eu-LISA), in Tallinn.

I would like to congratulate eu-LISA for hosting what proved to be another very successful event. Our twice-yearly meetings with the DPOs are an invaluable opportunity to reinforce collaboration with our data protection partners, and are integral part of preparations for the new data protection rules.  

On 18 May 2017, the EDPS is hosting a workshop on Data Driven Life (digital ethics) in Brussels.

With the support of the Ethics Advisory Group, the workshop will explore the positive and negative consequences of data-driven changes on society and on individuals to pursue their own life choices.

Today, at the last Plenary Meeting of the Europol Joint Supervisory Body (JSB), the EDPS, represented by our Director, Christopher Docksey, and María Verónica Pérez Asinari, the Head of the EDPS Supervision and Enforcement Unit, attended the ceremony which marked the beginning of a new era in the data protection supervision of Europol.

Under the new Europol Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/794), the EDPS will take over responsibility from the JSB for the data protection supervision of Europol. The new Regulation will be fully applicable from the beginning of next month.