Brussels, BELGIUM — A small majority of European Parliamentarians today approved a nonbinding political resolution that objects to the EU granting the United Kingdom “adequacy” status to transfer personal data between the EU and the United Kingdom. It is now up to the European Commission to adopt its draft adequacy decisions.
Data flows that are essential for the provisions of goods and services across the Channel. A recent study found the aggregate cost to UK firms, including UK subsidiaries of EU firms, of no adequacy decision would likely total up to €1.86 billion.
Under the terms of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the UK is considered adequate until 30 June 2021. While a Member of the EU, the UK consistently applied EU data protection and privacy laws. The UK has not introduced any substantive changes to its privacy rules since it left the EU in 2020.
The following can be attributed to CCIA Europe Senior Public Policy Manager Alexandre Roure:
“It is hard to imagine how a country that has followed EU rules for decades would suddenly be found not to offer adequate privacy protections. If not the UK, then who?”
“We encourage lawmakers to set politics aside and create legal certainty for the thousands of EU and UK businesses that rely on data flows to serve customers on both sides of the Channel.”