Assita Kanko on the US-EU agreement on data protection and data exchange: “Hopefully, this is more than nice words”

The EU and the US have agreed in principle on a new Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework or Privacy Shield. This agreement makes it possible to exchange data legally between the EU and the US, because the two continents have different laws and regulations that apply to privacy data. MEP Assita Kanko welcomes the new agreement but warns: “The agreement must also be made concrete soon. It must not remain a matter of words.”

“In 2020, the European Court of Justice declared the agreement on the previous EU-US Privacy Shield invalid because it did not provide the required protection. The Court’s ruling and the lack of further agreements to replace the Privacy Shield have thrown many European companies and SMEs that send commercial data across the Atlantic Ocean into legal chaos, with major implications for the way large American technology companies collect data on EU citizens,” Assita Kanko says.

Protecting European citizens

It was not until March 2021 that the decision was taken to intensify negotiations on a new EU-US Privacy Shield. “It was already a positive sign that the new US administration wanted to usher in a new era of trans-Atlantic cooperation. A workable agreement between the EU and the US on data Transfers The money flows from Flanders to Brussels and Wallonia are called transfers. The transfers from the federal budget, the Financing Law and social security amount to between 6 and 7 billion euros per year, and 11 billion euros if debt repayments are included. The size of the transfers is always contested by the French-speaking side or they are just referred to as normal solidarity contributions. A study by Vives (KU Leuven) revealed that the transfers did not serve solidarity, but had a paralysing effect on the growth of both the Walloon and Flemish economies. transfers is essential for our businesses, economy and citizens. A good agreement is also necessary to protect European citizens from the less stringent privacy rules in the US. The balance between the free movement of data and the protection of our privacy is essential for everyone. Our society needs clear and structured rules in which our rights and responsibilities are laid down.”

Make agreements concrete soon

Assita Kanko is calling on the EU to make the agreements concrete soon and develop them into new and sustainable legislation, and wants to follow this up further in the European Parliament. “For legal certainty for our companies,” Assita Kanko emphasises. “This issue is not limited to our cooperation with the United States. That is why the EU must show leadership and encourage an international standard for exchanging data between its closest partners. Data are global, and we need to build an international framework that reflects this. The EU must not hesitate to intervene; otherwise, we risk missing the digital train.”