EU official should not get top privacy job, says think tank
The letter – signed by a list of privacy professors – stresses that if the role is awarded to long-time EU official Bruno Gencarelli, the EDPS' legitimacy is at stake and poses a risk of conflict. Early last year, the EDPS ruled for example that the Commission's use of Microsoft 365 was not legitimate.
Gencarelli – who spent 12 years working in managerial roles on data protection at the Commission, and who was formerly a head of the executive's International Affairs and Data Flows Unit – is one of four contenders shortlisted for the role by the Commission.
After hearings in both institutions earlier this month, the Parliament's Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee, LIBE, voted to appoint Gencarelli, followed by the current EDPS Wojciech Wiewiórowski. The member states are backing Wiewiórowski for the job however.
Next week, the Parliament's Conference of Presidents is set to endorse the LIBE decision, after which the institutions will have to find a compromise.
The hearings were due last November but were delayed because the Commission failed to draw up the shortlist before the mandate of the Wiewiórowski – in the role since 2019 – expired on 5 December.
Although the EDPS is not able to fine Big Tech companies for a privacy breach — that's a competence of the national data protection authorities — its role as an advisor to those watchdogs is significant.
Later this year, the AI Act will start to apply, and national privacy watchdogs will see their privacy work more and more intertwined with AI, which will enable the new EDPS to take an agenda setting role.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
11 hours ago
- Euronews
European leaders to support trilateral meeting following Alaska summit
European leaders have said they are "ready to work with US President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy towards a trilateral summit with European support," in a statement issued by the European Commission on Saturday. "It will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory. International borders must not be changed by force," the statement read, which was released a few hours after the conclusion of a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The statement was signed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and European Council President António Costa. They said they "welcomed President Trump's efforts to stop the killing in Ukraine, end Russia's war of aggression, and achieve just and lasting peace," following the US President's meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska. The leaders insisted on "ironclad security guarantees" for Ukraine, with "no limitations" on Ukraine's armed forces. "Russia cannot have a veto against Ukraine's pathway to EU and NATO." The statement also reiterated a pledge to continue to impose sanctions on Russia "as long as the killing in Ukraine continues". Zelenskyy calls for 'real peace' Zelenskyy echoed the European statement in a post on X, calling for "real peace" and "not just another pause between Russian invasions." He added that he told Trump "sanctions should be strengthened if there is no trilateral meeting or if Russia tries to evade an honest end to the war." He also reiterated the importance of involving European leaders, who also were not present at the summit. Other European leaders responded more fiercely to the outcome of Friday's summit in Alaska. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espend Barth Eide told reporters in Oslo Putin's talking points were "code for the Russian justification for the illegal invasion of Ukraine." Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in a statement that "Putin is still only interested in the greatest possible territorial gains and the restoration of the Soviet empire." EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said 'the harsh reality is that Russia has no intention of ending this war anytime soon,' noting that Moscow's forces launched new attacks on Ukraine even as the delegations met. 'Putin continues to drag out negotiations and hopes he gets away with it. He left Anchorage without making any commitments to end the killing,' she said.
Euronews
2 days ago
- Euronews
Plastic pollution treaty talks end without an agreement
Negotiators working on a treaty to address the global crisis of plastic pollution won't reach an agreement in Geneva on Friday. They were meeting for the 11th day at the United Nations office in Geneva to try to complete a landmark treaty to end the plastic pollution crisis but remained deadlocked over whether the treaty should reduce the exponential growth of plastic production and put global, legally binding controls on toxic chemicals used to make plastics. This round of negotiations was meant to be the last, producing the first legally binding treaty on plastic pollution. But now delegates are leaving without a treaty after talks collapsed, just like they did at the meeting in South Korea last year. Nations deeply disappointed to leave Geneva without a treaty Representatives of Norway, Australia, Tuvalu and other nations said they were deeply disappointed to be leaving Geneva without a treaty. "We came to Geneva to secure a global plastics treaty because we know the stakes could not be higher," European Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and Competitive Circular Economy, Jessika Roswall said in a post on social media. "While the latest text on the table does not yet meet all our ambitions, it is a step forward—and the perfect must not be the enemy of the good." Roswall added that the EU will continue to push for a stronger, binding agreement. Saudi Arabia said both drafts lacked balance, and Saudi and Kuwaiti negotiators said the latest proposal takes other states' views more into account and addresses plastic production, which they consider outside the scope of the treaty. No further action on the latest draft text Luis Vayas Valdivieso, the chair of the negotiating committee, wrote and presented two drafts of treaty text in Geneva based on the views expressed by nations at the talks. That draft, released early Friday, did not include a limit on plastic production but recognised that current levels of production and consumption are 'unsustainable' and global action is needed. New language had been added to say these levels exceed current waste management capacities and are projected to increase further, 'thereby necessitating a coordinated global response to halt and reverse such trends.' The representatives from 184 countries did not agree to use either one as the basis for their negotiations. Valdivieso said Friday morning, as the delegates reconvened in the assembly hall, that no further action is being proposed at this stage on the latest draft. Talks in Geneva have been an "abject failure", David Azoulay, health programme director and head of the delegation for the Center for International Environmental Law, said in a statement. "In the final days of the negotiations, we have clearly seen what many of us have known for some time - some countries did not come here to finalise a text, they came here to do the opposite: block any attempt at advancing a viable treaty. "It's impossible to find a common ground between those who are interested in protecting the status quo and the majority who are looking for a functional treaty that can be strengthened over time." What happens now? Delegates are still meeting and have not decided on the next steps yet. Azoulay said that, while negotiations will continue, they will fail again if solutions aren't identified and the process doesn't change. "We need a restart, not a repeat performance. Countries that want a treaty must now leave this process and form a treaty of the willing. And that process must include options for voting that deny the tyranny of consensus we have watched play out here."
Local France
2 days ago
- Local France
'Neglected or ignored': Brits in Europe urged to back campaign for overseas MPs
Campaigners say there's growing recognition in the UK parliament of the need for an MP whose main role is representing Brits living abroad and the 'unique issues' they face – with a similar system already used in several EU countries. And while MPs get countless emails, a coalition of international citizens' rights groups has asked voters to send a postcard about the issue instead. READ ALSO: Campaign group for British overseas voters to hold first European meeting in Italy 'As MPs take a well deserved break, they should spare a thought for the millions of UK citizens abroad,' said Tom Brake, CEO of campaign group Unlock Democracy. 'Their views and priorities are often neglected or completely ignored. Establishing overseas constituencies is the best way to ensure their views are no longer marginalised.' The postcard campaign was 'a way to show MPs who and where we are – although we don't all live in picture postcard tourist spots,' said Clarissa Killwick, representing pan-European citizens' rights group Brexpats - Hear Our Voice. 'I live in Italy which has overseas MPs. They've helped bring about important changes such as improved consular services,' 'It is also a two-way street – for example, reducing over-punitive taxes has made Italians abroad more inclined to pay them.' Campaigner Clasissa Killwick sends her postcard from Italy. to her MP in the UK Photo courtesy of Clarissa Killwick. Under the proposed system, UK citizens abroad would elect MPs who represent their part of the world in the UK parliament, rather than voting for the MP in the UK constituency they might have left years ago. Italian citizens living abroad elect a total of 12 overseas parliamentarians - eight MPs and four senators. That accounts for two percent of the total number of seats in parliament. In France, 11 MPs are elected to the Assemblée nationale whose role is to represent the interests of French citizens living overseas - they each represent a 'constituency' such as French people in northern Europe. This type of representation often results in higher voter turnout and more focus on issues affecting overseas voters, according to the groups backing the campaign. Advertisement Terence Champion, Chair of Liberal Democrats Overseas, said: 'The more than 5,500,000 British citizens living overseas need their own MPs to represent their very specific concerns, which largely differ from those of domestic UK voters. 'Living overseas means facing some unique issues including frozen pensions, higher education fees, problems with UK bank accounts. spouse visas and complicated voting procedures, amongst others.' The issue of overseas constituencies was also among several topics to be discussed by the British Overseas Voters Forum (BOVF) at its inaugural meeting set to be held in Milan on September 9th . Organisations backing the campaign include: Unlock Democracy, New Europeans UK, British Overseas Voters Forum, Bremain in Spain, Liberal Democrats Abroad, Labour International, Brexpats - Hear Our Voice, and Liberal Democrats Overseas.
