The Information and Data Protection Commissioner (KDIMDP) in cooperation with the European Movement in Albania (EMA) organized the next roundtable with the Working Group on Chapter 23 “Judiciary and Fundamental Rights”, which is taking place within the framework of the National Convention on European Integration.
This session, which brought together civil society organizations, human rights activists, researchers, lecturers and media representatives, aimed to provide information on Law No. 124/2024 “On the Protection of Personal Data” and its innovations.
The Secretary General of the Information and Data Protection Commissioner’s Office, Ms. Blerta Nerguti, stated that the Commissioner’s Office has a special contribution to the process of negotiations and the fulfillment of the interim criteria for Chapter 23. She emphasized that after the adoption of the new law on the protection of personal data, its implementation remains a challenge. In this context, Ms. Nerguti underlined the importance of raising awareness, training and holding such round tables.The Secretary General informed that the Commissioner’s Office is in the process of finalizing the complete set of by-laws implementing the law. This package of guidelines and methodologies, for the drafting of which various actors have been involved, will serve interest groups to better understand the law on the protection of personal data as well as to implement it in practice.
The Director General for Personal Data Protection, Ms. Pjerina Mema, gave a technical description of the law and its obligations. She pointed out that the law is new, fully harmonized with the Acquis Communautaire and citizens are guaranteed a higher level of protection. Ms. Mema focused on some innovations of the law such as the right of access, the right to correction and deletion, the right to be forgotten, sanctions, etc. She said that the Commissioner’s Office will continue to organize roundtable discussions with the public and private sectors, to help increase awareness and understanding of the law.
Gledis Gjipali, Executive Director of the European Movement in Albania (EMA), in his speech stated that such meetings are important to create bridges of cooperation and dialogue between public institutions and non-state actors, interested and affected by the reform processes being undertaken within the framework of European integration, which have intensified with the opening of accession negotiations. Mr.Gjipali emphasized that these policy undertakings and legal initiatives, as important as they are for the approximation with EU legislation and to be considered as fulfilled conditions for moving forward with the process, should also be as inclusive processes as possible, giving different interest groups the opportunity not only to be informed, but also to become part of the public discussion and dialogue. Especially for laws that affect many sectors and that are technically challenging, these joint meetings play an important role in sharing experiences and practices from different groups and experts.
In continuation, Ms. Zuzana Motuzova, a GDPR expert and lawyer from Slovakia, shared with the participants the experience of Slovakia as an EU member state and how public institutions, but also non-state actors, adapted after the adoption and entry into force of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), highlighting the challenges encountered in practice in its implementation. She said that it is important that the sooner a process of awareness and information on the impact of this law on all sectors is launched, the easier the implementation process will be, promoting what she called – a culture of personal data protection and digital security.
At the end of the presentations, participants engaged in an active discussion with questions and comments on the topics and issues addressed.
