Abstract

As of May 2018, the European data protection authorities will cooperate within the European Data Protection Board, which will replace the Article 29 Working Party. The powers of the Board have been significantly enlarged as compared with the competences of the Article 29 Working Party, which has been an expert body and its role has been strictly of an advisory nature. The responsibilities of the Board will include sovereign actions in the form of issuing binding decisions, advising the European Commission, issuing guidelines, and a long list of other tasks specified in Regulation 2016/679. The composition of the Board will be similar to that of the Article 29 Working Party and will include supervisory authorities of EU Member States and the European Data Protection Supervisor, as well as the European Commission, which will attend meetings of the Board though without the right to take part in decision making. The European Data Protection Board will be responsible for consistent application of the General Regulation. The work of the Board will be controlled by the Chair with the help of two deputies and the fully independent Secretariat, which will be an independent unit operating on the basis of financial and organization resources provided by the EU Data Protection Supervisor. The article analyses the new entity and its organizational structure as well as its tasks and powers of fundamental importance for the new system of data protection in the EU.