The European Data Protection Board Publishes Annual Report 2022

The European Data Protection Board (“EDBP”) Annual Report 2022 (“Report”) was published on its official website on April 17, 2023

EDPB has a crucial function in upholding data protection regulations. Its primary objectives are to maintain consistent enforcement of these laws and encourage cooperation among Supervisory Authorities (“SAs”) in their enforcement efforts. Furthermore, the EDPB is responsible for making binding decisions in cases where SAs cannot reach a consensus on complex matters.

To foster a comprehensive and collaborative approach toward addressing the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) enforcement issues, the EDPB Members held a meeting in Vienna in April 2022. During the meeting, they reaffirmed their commitment to close cross-border cooperation and outlined a statement that outlined their collective action plan for the strong and swift enforcement of GDPR. The action plan included enhancing cooperation on strategic cases and broadening the range of cooperation methods used.

Additionally, the EDPB agreed to create a list of procedural aspects that could be further harmonized in EU law to optimize the positive impact of GDPR cooperation. This list was sent to the European Commission in October 2022 for review and was incorporated into their work program for 2023.

The European Data Protection Supervisor (“EDPS”) provides the EDPB Secretariat, which offers analytical, administrative, and logistical assistance to the EDPB. The EDPB Secretariat has various responsibilities, such as drafting EDPB documents, facilitating transparent communication between European national SAs via IT solutions, managing EDPB media relations, and coordinating all EDPB meetings.

According to GDPR, it is the responsibility of national SAs to cooperate to ensure that data protection laws are applied consistently. For cases that have a cross-border aspect, the SAs of the European Economic Area (“EEA”), which includes the 27 EU Member States along with Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein, possess various instruments to aid in harmonization.

Article 62 of Regulation 2018/1725 highlights the necessity of a collaborative effort between EDPS and national SAs to guarantee effective supervision of large-scale IT systems and EU bodies, offices, and agencies. Previously, the EDPS and relevant SAs coordinated via individual Supervision Coordination Groups (“SCGs”). However, in December 2019, the Coordinated Supervision Committee (“CSC”) was established within the EDPB to ensure consistent supervision across all levels.

The full text of the press release is available here.

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Zumbul Attorneys at Law

info@zumbul.av.tr