The Commissioner’s Office for the Information and Data Protection participated in the second meeting of the Academy for the Protection of Personal Data Week for the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership countries. This activity was co-organized by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers (DG JUST), the Support for Improvement in Governance and Management Program(SIGMA), the Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA), and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), from September 9 to 13, 2024, in Brussels.

The Academy for Data Protection is a project created by the European Commission (DG JUST) that provides support and training for data protection authorities in non-EU countries. The annual meeting aims to strengthen partnerships between data protection authorities from the Western Balkans, Eastern Partnership countries, and the EU by offering a platform for capacity building and knowledge sharing on best practices in data protection, including compliance monitoring in the public and private sectors, the implementation of the GDPR, and the digitization of services.

During this meeting, the Commissioner’s Office presented findings related to the digitization of services, administrative investigations conducted by the Office, the role of the data protection officer, awareness-raising activities organized, and practices regarding the implementation of international transfers of personal data. One of the key achievements of the Albanian data protection authority, which was highlighted by the participants, was the implementation of the Agreement with Eurojust.