Abstract

The European reform of the personal data protection law was meant to be an evolution without revolution: it was to be modernized with the foundation on which the existing order had been based to be maintained. Have the European institutions managed to work out a reasonable compromise? The authoress makes an overview of the General Personal Data Protection Regulation from the viewpoint of strengthening or weakening the rights of citizens whose data are processed. The first part of the analysis summarizes positive changes which practically consolidate the personal data protection standard. The second part outlines the threats connected with the lowering of this standard at the EU level or a considerable scope of “flexibility” the European legislator left in this respect for Member States.