Commission seeks views on data protection legislation

The Commission wants to know how well they think the Directive is working and what changes may be needed. The on-line survey asks for opinions on many aspects of privacy, including medical records, e-commerce and the use of e-mail by employees.

The results will be discussed with data protection experts at a conference organised by the Commission on 30th September and 1st October in Brussels. The findings will feed into the Commission’s next report on the implementation of the Data Protection Directive.

Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein said:

"The Commission's job is to ensure a secure legal framework that allows the free movement of information in the Internal Market, while at the same time guaranteeing the fundamental right of individuals to have their privacy respected. There is of course no privacy without the protection of personal data. We have to keep the Data Protection Directive under review to ensure that it is working in the interests our citizens, businesses, public authorities and other interested parties."

The aim of the 1995 Data Protection Directive is to set out a clear framework for privacy protection in the EU. The Directive entered into force on 24 October 1998 and has been implemented into national law by all Member States of the European Union except Ireland and Luxembourg. The Commission expects those two countries to finalise their implementation before the end of this year.