In a draft adequacy decision, reported to have been seen by the Financial Times (FT), the European Commission (the “Commission”) is set to allow the continued free flow of data between the EU and UK, after confirming that the UK offers an adequate level of protection for personal data, pursuant to Article 45 of the General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”). According to the FT, the draft decision can be expected this week.
The decision, once adopted, will replace the current interim solution, agreed under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which allows for companies and organisations to transfer personal data from the EU to the UK up until 30 June 2021. For more information on the interim solution please see our previous update “Brexit Updated: Interim Deal Reached on EU-UK Data Transfers”.
Continue Reading Brexit Updated: EU Set to Publish UK Adequacy Decision
The UK Parliament has today, 15th January 2019, rejected the Government’s Brexit withdrawal agreement with the EU. This turn of events, which was widely anticipated, increases the prospect of a no deal Brexit, i.e. a break-up without a divorce settlement. According to law, the UK will leave the EU on 29th March 2019 with no deal unless Parliament has accepted the withdrawal agreement, or a modified version of it, or a new agreement has been reached with the EU and accepted by Parliament, before then. Although no deal remains an unlikely scenario, it would have consequences for your data protection obligations.