News

EU Sets Timeline for Consideration of Data Protection Reform

24 May 2012

Jan Philipp Albrecht, the rapporteur to the European Parliament for the proposed EU Data Protection Regulation, has set forth a draft calendar that outlines the steps to be taken during the consideration of the Regulation. The proposed Regulation was published on January 25, 2012, and this calendar provides the first concrete timeline indicating how long debate over the Regulation may last, giving stakeholders a better sense of when a final Regulation may be in place. It is anticipated that by summer 2013 the Regulation should be ready for trilogue with the Council and Commission, and that the Regulation shall be put to a vote in the plenary session of the European Parliament in early 2014. This calendar must be agreed upon by the other committees involved before it is finalized, and it will be modified as necessary as the proposed Regulation progresses towards finalization.

The first item on the calendar is a workshop conducted by the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee, which takes place in Brussels on Tuesday, May 29^th from 3:00 pm – 6:30 pm. The workshop will include remarks by European Data Protection Supervisor, Peter Hustinx, and is open to all interested stakeholders.

The following is the draft calendar set forth by Mr. Albrecht:

May 29, 2012, 3:00-6:30: LIBE Committee Workshop (industry, civil society and academia)
May 31, 2012, 11:00-12:00: LIBE Exchange of views (Regulation and Directive)
June 19/20, 2012: Presentation of general working document (Regulation and Directive)
July 9/10, 2012 : Presentation of specific working document on the Regulation (WD 1)
September 2012: LIBE Exchange of views (Regulation)
October 2012: Presentation of specific working document on the Regulation (WD 2)
October/November 2012: LIBE Committee Hearing
November 2012: Presentation of the draft report
December 2012: Deadline for tabling amendments
Late January/February 2013: Discussion of Amendments in LIBE Committee
February 2013: Discussion with Opinion Committees
March/April 2013: Orientation Vote LIBE committee
Summer 2013 (?): Trilogue with Council and Commission
Early 2014 (?): Vote in plenary