Today, the European Commission launched the process towards the adoption of two adequacy decisions for transfers of personal data to the United Kingdom, one under the General Data Protection Regulation and the other for the Law Enforcement Directive. The publication of the draft decisions is the beginning of a process towards their adoption. This involves obtaining an opinion from the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) and the green light from a committee composed of representatives of the EU Member States. Once this procedure will have been completed, the Commission could proceed to adopt the two adequacy decisions.
Commenting on the decision by the European Commission to grant the UK data adequacy, BCC Co-Executive Director Hannah Essex said:
“With the free flow of data critical to their operations, businesses will be greatly relieved at the granting of data adequacy which removes a costly cliff edge at a time when many are already struggling due to the pandemic and post-Brexit trading conditions. However, it should not distract from the need to address the many practical difficulties that are currently stifling trade between us. More needs to be done to fix these problems otherwise many firms may simply give up on doing business with the EU. This should include pushing back the dates for introducing additional scientific checks on animal and plant goods from April and full customs checks on imports from July, and increasing the support available for businesses who need time to adapt to the new trading conditions.”