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EU member states agree to reform data protections rules

Xinhua, June 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

The European Union (EU) member states agreed on the proposal of the European Commission to reform the Data Protection Regulation, as the EU justice ministers met in Luxemburg on Monday, said the European Commission in a press release.

The Commission hoped that this data protection reform it launched in 2012 would enable EU citizens to better control their personal data, as well as allow businesses to make the most of the opportunities of the Digital Single Market by cutting red tape and benefiting from reinforced consumer trust.

The ministers at the meeting reached consensus on five rules of the reform, on top of which is "one continent, one law", referring to establishing a single set of rules on data protection that are valid across the EU.

Moreover, the "one-stop shop" rule for businesses and citizens means that companies will only have to deal with one single supervisory authority in the EU, not 28, while individuals would only have to deal with their home national data protection authority in their own language, even if their personal data was processed outside their home country.

The reform also intended to apply the "European rules on European soil" rule, which means that even companies based outside of Europe would have to apply the same rules when offering services in the EU.

More powers would be given to independent national data protection authorities, which would be empowered to fine companies that violate EU data protection rules, with penalties of up to 1 million euros (1.13 million U.S. dollars) or up to 2 percent of the global annual turnover of a company.

New rules also would enrich and strengthen the right of EU citizens to be forgotten, in that if citizens no longer want their data to be processed and there are no legitimate grounds for retaining it, the controller must delete the data, unless they can show that it is still needed or relevant.

"I feel very encouraged by this positive step towards improved and harmonized data protection rules. Data Protection is at the heart of the Digital Single Market; it builds a strong basis to help Europe make better use of innovative digital services like big data and cloud computing," said Andrus Ansip, European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Single Market.

It is estimated that the first trilogue meeting among the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU would take place later this month, and the three institutions hope to reach a final agreement by the end of this year, said the Commission in the press release. Endit