COMECE Legal Affairs Commission addresses data protection and transparency policies

COMECE Legal Affairs Commission addresses data protection and transparency policies

On Thursday 25 February 2021 the experts of the COMECE Legal Affairs Commission  met online to exchange on EU and Member States’ legal developments affecting fundamental rights.

Under the chairmanship of H.E. Mgr. Theodorus C. M. Hoogenboom, legal advisors mandated by Bishops’ Conferences discussed with representatives of the European Commission on two of the most current EU dossiers.

With regard to the EU Directive on open data and re-use of public sector information and the proposed Data Governance Act, the COMECE Legal Affairs Commission focused on the protection of data related to Churches and religious communities’ activities held by public sector bodies. Furthermore, experts also examined the concept of data-sharing for altruistic purposes.

The dialogue with EU representatives centred on the reform of the EU Transparency Register and its mandatory nature. This reform derives from an interinstitutional agreement confirming the status quo on the exemption of Churches from the registration. COMECE will be involved in the forthcoming EU consultation on the revision of the structure of the Register.

Exchanges within the COMECE Commission were also devoted to an update on issues related to the application of the GDPR. The next meeting of the Legal Affairs Commission will take place on 17 September 2021 featuring non-discrimination policies and the EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights.