EU Parliament and Council appoint Giovanni Buttarelli as EDPS

Giovanni Buttarelli has been appointed as European Data Protection Supervisor for the period of 1 December 2014 to 30 November 2019. The Assistant Supervisor will be Wojciech Wiewiórowski.

"The [European Parliament’s] Civil Liberties Committee has voted for two very strong candidates for the roles of European Data Protection Supervisor and Assistant Supervisor" said Committee Chair Claude Moraes. "Mr Buttarelli brings with him a wealth of experience as the former Assistant Supervisor of the EDPS and as former Secretary General of the Italian Data Protection Authority and I am confident that he will swiftly adapt to his new role. In addition, Mr Wiewiórowski also demonstrated excellent knowledge of data protection and privacy laws in the EU in his role at the top of the Polish Data Protection Authority.”

Parliament appointed the EDPS by common accord with the Council. The final stage of the procedure will be the signature of the nomination decision by both Parliament and the Council in order for the new team of Supervisors to take up their functions later this week. The EDPS is an independent supervisory authority which ensures that the EC institutions and bodies respect their data protection obligations. It also cooperates with the national EU Data Protection Authorities and may have an enhanced role after adoption of the EU Data Protection Regulation.