On 5 April 2011, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) and the Chairman of the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party(*) hosted the annual Spring Conference of European Data Protection Commissioners in Brussels, involving data protection authorities from EU and non-EU Member States, as well as various authorities at EU level.
The central theme of the Conference was the current review of the data protection legal framework. The Conference adopted a Resolution in which it stressed the need for a comprehensive data protection framework, which includes the law enforcement sector. The Conference recalls that the challenges are enormous, due to globalisation and trans-border flows of personal data, the development of technology especially in the on-line world as well as developments in the police and justice sector. The efforts to modernise and reinforce the different legal frameworks – not only in the EU, but also in the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development – should develop in synergy. In their Resolution, the European Data Protection Commissioners consider that all these developments offer tremendous opportunities for a real improvement of the data protection framework, offering effective protection to all individuals under all circumstances, not only now but also in a more distant future. The time has come to be ambitious and join forces for comprehensive and more effective data protection, so they state. Read More
