Читать книгу Privacy and Data Protection based on the GDPR - Leo Besemer - Страница 19

On 1 December 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon became effective. Its main aim was to strengthen the structures of the enlarged European Union. The Lisbon Treaty amended the Treaty establishing the European Community again and renamed it to “Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union” (TFEU).

The Lisbon Treaty for the first time clarifies the powers of the Union. It distinguishes three types of competences: exclusive competence, where the Union alone can legislate, and Member States only implement; shared competence, where the Member States can legislate and adopt legally binding measures if the Union has not done so; and supporting competence, where the EU adopts measures to support or complement Member States’ policies. Union competences can now be handed back to the Member States in the course of a treaty revision.

The Lisbon Treaty gives the EU full legal personality. Therefore, the Union obtains the ability to sign international treaties in the areas of its attributed powers or to join an international organization. Member States may only sign international agreements that are compatible with EU law.

(Sokolska 2019)

One of the main objectives of the Lisbon Treaty is to “constitute an area of freedom, security and justice with respect for fundamental rights and the different legal systems and traditions of the Member States” (Article 67(1)).

The amended TFEU provides that:

The European Parliament and the Council, acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, shall lay down the rules relating to the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies, and by the Member States when carrying out activities which fall within the scope of Union law, and the rules relating to the free movement of such data. Compliance with these rules shall be subject to the control of independent authorities.

Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) Article 16(2)

This article requires all EU institutions to protect individuals when processing their personal data. The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) sees to compliance with data protection law within the EU institutions. The reference to “independent authorities” implies that, depending on the circumstances, national data protection authorities may also have jurisdiction.

In the following years, the possibilities of computers and computer networks developed at lightning speed. Millions of computers are connected worldwide via the internet. Personal data is processed in countless places, often with cross-border data traffic. International trade is also growing fast. Multinationals are becoming a normal form of business and mergers of companies to better serve the European market are the order of the day. Since then, the development of automatic computers and the internet have accelerated even more.

However, the rules and regulations in the Member States, although based on Directive 95/46/EC, were still quite diverse, requiring international companies and organizations to deal with a different set of laws in each of the countries where they had establishments.