On February 22nd 2021, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) released its Opinion on the conclusion of the trade agreement and the exchange of classified information agreement between EU and UK. The EDPS welcomes this agreement.
The EDPS is really satisfied that one of the essential elements of the trade and cooperation agreement (TCA) is the respect and the safeguard of human rights. The EDPS also welcomes the commitment of EU and UK to ensure a high level of protection of data.
However, the EDPS regrets that the TCA fails to take over the horizontal “EU provisions on Cross-border data flows and protection of personal data and privacy in the Digital Trade Title of EU trade agreements” endorsed by the European Commission in 2018. While, concerning the interim provision for transmission of personal data from the EU to the UK, the EDPS underlines that this mechanism should remain exceptional and should not set a precedent for future TCAs with other third countries.
Source: EDPS – press release
