The Day Britain Made History
Over half a century ago, it was the devastation caused in Europe by the Second World War which underlay the directive for countries to become allies to guard against any such incident in the future.
French statesmen Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman were regarded as the architects of the principle that the best way to start the European bonding process was by developing economic ties.
The European Union, or EU, describes itself as a family of democratic European countries, committed to working together for peace and prosperity. The organisation oversees co-operation among its members in diverse areas, including trade, the environment, transport and employment.
On 1st May 2004, the EU received 10 new members:
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Czech Republic
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Estonia
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Hungary
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Lithuania
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Malta
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Poland
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Slovakia
The 2009 Lisbon Treaty will need to be triggered and the UK are bound by all EU existing laws and obligations, while Article 50 is being negotiated. Yet after two years, British membership could conclude and this may no longer be the case. The process of disentangling the UK from the EU will initially involve withdrawing the 1972 European Communities Act which is the piece of legislation that brought the country into the European Economic Community, as it was then known, and which gives priority to EU law in the UK. It will also mean sifting through an estimated 80,000 pages of EU agreements, which have been enacted over the past fifty years, to decide which will be repealed, amended or retained - a process which Parliament will oversee.
Where Do Businesses Stand Now?
Even after 20 years, data protection law is at a whole new level and particularly uniform for the European Union.
The EU General Data Protection Regulation was agreed by the European Parliament on 14th April 2016 and confirmed on 24th May 2016. This regulation will be in application as of 25th May 2018 and replace the EU Data Protection Directive which was introduced in 1995.
The Major Changes
The Regulation aims to provide an incorporated data protection regime in the EU. The GDPR contains opportunities for national, special, and exceptional regulations at more than 50 points within its multiple articles. The Regulation also applies to companies based outside the EU.
With regard to actions that have the consent of the person affected in the processing of personal data, the action must be clearly acknowledged. In cases of violations of the Regulation, companies will face substantial penalties. The fines can amount to four percent of the global corporate turnover or € 20 million.
Introducing the Data Protection Officer
Companies are required to appoint a Data Protection Officer, as their main activity requires extensive, regular, and systematic monitoring of staff and processes involved with sensitive data and it should be noted that in the future, the duty of the Data Protection Officer includes monitoring of compliance with the GDPR. The person responsible for data processing must take appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure and to prove that the data processing is carried out correctly with the GDPR. The establishment of a data protection management system will be required as a rule.
Click4Assistance have always complied with EU regulations and will continue to comply with UKs laws and regulations as changes are made from the leave results.
As a UK based company with data centres in London conforming to ISO 9001 and 27001 standards, Click4Assistance adheres to the stringent regulations laid out by the Financial Conduct Authority for data storage, Data Protection Act 1988 and PCI compliance.
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