EU Support: Data Protection Conference Brings Together Experts to Discuss Legislative Reform

The Data Protection Conference, held in Warsaw on 14-15 March by EU4DigitalUA, brought together experts from the Ombudsman Office, EU institutions, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, and representatives of businesses from Ukraine and the EU. The conference addressed the need to reform Ukrainian data protection legislation so that it corresponds to the challenges of the digital world.

“In accordance with Article 15 of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU, Ukraine undertook to ensure an adequate level of personal data protection in accordance with the highest European and international standards, in particular relevant documents of the Council of Europe. EU4DigitalUA welcomes Ukrainian aspiration to reform data protection legislation as its adoption is an essential part for Ukraine’s integration in the EU” – says Maria Gaston Betran, FIIAPP Technical Institutional Coordinator of EU4DigitalUA.

Participants discussed the development of the draft law of Ukraine on Personal Data Protection and on the National Commission for Personal Data Protection and access to public information to bring Ukrainian legislation to the standards of the EU. The EU institutions, including the European Data Protection Supervisor and the European Data Protection Board, shared their expertise on GDPR implementation, providing valuable insights and recommendations.

“The current law of Ukraine on the protection of personal data was adopted in 2010 and is based on Convention 108, a European document of 1981. Thus, to ensure the protection of personal data of Ukrainians, a new updated legislation must to adopted to correspond to the current level of technological development and, consequently, personal data processing. The Ombudsman Office appreciates this opportunity of the conference to highlight the importance of new law adoption and discuss the European experience of GDPR implementation” – noted the Representative of the Commissioner for Human Rights Yulia Derkachenko of the Secretariat of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights

Personal Data Protection experts of the EU4DigitalUA are co-authors of the new draft law and provided expert support regarding the analysis of the norms of the draft law for their compliance with the requirements of European legislation. The Spanish Agency for the Protection of Personal Data is an invaluable partner of the Data Protection Component in the EU4DigitalUA project, with a long experience in international cooperation projects and extensive expertise in this field.

Luis de Salvador, Director of Technological Innovation Division at the Spanish Data Protection Agency, commented: “The courage shown by the Ukrainian people in these hard times has been reflected in their defense of the fundamental right to data protection in periods of war. When the foundations of the society are shaken by external events it is of the utmost importance to keep the freedom of the people and the Rule of Law. The Ombudsman and the Ukrainian authorities realized how important in the protection of the right of the citizens and didn’t stop to work under great pressure to guarantee them, in particular, regarding personal data protection”.

In addition to legislative reforms, the conference also addressed the future of data protection and the role of governments in shaping the future of data protection regulations. The representatives discussed the evolution of privacy laws and the importance of staying abreast of new technologies and emerging risks to privacy.