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Henry Kissinger, in one of perhaps the most famous quotes which were never actually uttered by the person to whom they are attributed, is alleged to have complained that when he wanted to telephone the European Union he didn’t know what number to ring.  I am often asked for my reflections on the transatlantic relationship under the new administration, and in response I have suggested that indeed it would be helpful to have a nominated points of contact for questions of privacy and data protection law.

I have repeated on many occasions my deep conviction that the GDPR is going to be the keystone of data protection law for a generation.

This generation is going to include the ‘millennials’, digital ‘natives’ who have grown up knowing only connected things, with their social lives and education mediated by touch screens and apps.

In March this year, my respected colleague Ventislav Karadjov, Chairman of the Commission for Personal Data Protection of the Republic of Bulgaria (CPDP) and I announced that we will jointly be hosting the 40th annual International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners in October 2018.

The Annual Privacy Forum took place on 7 June 2017. This event, which has been organised by the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) on an annual basis since 2012, and supported by the EDPS, brings together researchers, regulators and business dealing with privacy in the IT services we use on a daily basis.

I had the honour of giving the opening keynote speech and took the opportunity to refer to the recent cyber-attack known on social media as #WannaCry.

The 41st meeting between the EDPS and the DPOs from the EU institutions and bodies took place yesterday at the European Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice (eu-LISA), in Tallinn.

I would like to congratulate eu-LISA for hosting what proved to be another very successful event. Our twice-yearly meetings with the DPOs are an invaluable opportunity to reinforce collaboration with our data protection partners, and are integral part of preparations for the new data protection rules.  

Today will be the culmination of several years of important discussions about how to respond to the digital challenge. Regulatory bodies have the necessary tools to address questions of concentration of market and informational power - and we have been considering how to use these tools in a smarter way.  

On 18 May 2017, the EDPS is hosting a workshop on Data Driven Life (digital ethics) in Brussels.

With the support of the Ethics Advisory Group, the workshop will explore the positive and negative consequences of data-driven changes on society and on individuals to pursue their own life choices.

The United States has always been a vital strategic partner for the EU. Our relationship extends to cooperation in multiple areas, as well as representing the largest trade and investment relationship in the world, with around €500bn of goods and services flowing in each direction.

Today, at the last Plenary Meeting of the Europol Joint Supervisory Body (JSB), the EDPS, represented by our Director, Christopher Docksey, and María Verónica Pérez Asinari, the Head of the EDPS Supervision and Enforcement Unit, attended the ceremony which marked the beginning of a new era in the data protection supervision of Europol.

Under the new Europol Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/794), the EDPS will take over responsibility from the JSB for the data protection supervision of Europol. The new Regulation will be fully applicable from the beginning of next month.

Today I signed a memorandum of understanding for increased cooperation between the EDPS and the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union.