Brussels is set to allow data to continue to flow freely from the EU to the UK after concluding that the British had ensured an adequate level of protection for personal information.
A draft decision by the European Commission, seen by the Financial Times, is expected to be approved this week. It will be welcomed by businesses — particularly in the health, insurance and technology sectors — that regularly transfer customer personal information such as bank details.
The move will also help with aspects of EU-UK law enforcement co-operation, although the UK has lost access to the giant SIS II police database and European Arrest Warrant network.
A positive decision by Brussels on data sharing had been widely expected and would benefit the EU and the UK. It would be periodically reviewed by the commission and is open to legal challenges at the European Court of Justice, such as the one that led to parts of the EU-US “Privacy Shield” data transfer arrangements being struck down last year.
The decision to grant data adequacy to the UK will face scrutiny by the European Data Protection Board before it can be implemented, but the body does not have the power to block the move.
Vera Jourova, EU vice-president for values and transparency, said…
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