EU: EC refers Spain and Greece to court over data law

The European Commission decided Thursday, July 25, to refer Greece and Spain to the Court of Justice of the EU for failing to transpose the EU rules on personal data protection (the Data Protection Law Enforcement Directive, Directive (EU) 2016/680). In April 2016, the Council and the European Parliament agreed the Directive had to be transposed into national law by May 6, 2018.

In the case of Greece, the Commission is calling on the Court of Justice of the EU to impose financial sanctions in the form of a lump sum of €5,287.50 per day between the day after the deadline for transposition set out by the Directive expired, and either compliance by Greece or the date of delivery of the judgment under Article 260(3) TFEU, with a minimum lump sum of €1.31 million (US$ million) and a daily penalty payment of €22,169.70 from the day of the first judgment until full compliance is reached or until the second Court judgment.

As regards Spain, the Commission is calling on the Court to impose a financial sanction in the form of a lump sum of €21,321 per day between the day after the deadline for transposition set out by the Directive expired and either compliance by Spain or the date of delivery of the judgment under Article 260(3) TFEU, with a minimum lump sum of €5.29 million (US$5.9 million) and a daily penalty payment of €89,548.20 (US$99,757.82) from the day of the first judgement until full compliance is reached or until the second Court judgment.

The proposal to refer Greece and Spain to the Court of Justice of the EU has been made taking into account that Greece and Spain have not notified any measure transposing the Data Protection Law Enforcement Directive (Directive (EU) 2016/680) into national law. By failing to adopt all the laws, regulations, and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the Directive or, in any event, by failing to notify such provisions to the Commission, Greece and Spain have failed to fulfill their obligations of this Directive.