HOTREC and UEAPME call on the Council of the EU and the European and Parliament to give their final approval to the text as agreed during the trilogue negotiations.
BRUSSELS – HOTREC (the umbrella Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Cafes in Europe) and UEAPME (the employers’ organisation representing the interests of European crafts, trades and SMEs) welcome the result of the trilogue negotiations between the Council of the EU and the European Parliament on a General Data Protection Regulation and on the outcome of the vote at the LIBE Committee. The Data Protection Officer is now, as a rule, not made compulsory for companies, especially not for SMEs, whose core business is not data processing.
On 17th December 2015, the LIBE Committee of the European Parliament approved the agreement reached at the trilogue negotiations between the Council of the EU and the European and Parliament on a proposal for a General Data Protection Regulation. As an outcome of the discussions, the Data Protection Officer (DPO) is only made mandatory under the following circumstances:
- the processing of the data is carried out by a public authority, or
- the core activities of the company consist of processing operations, which by virtue of nature, scope or purposes require regular monitoring of data subjects on a large scale, or
- the core activities of the company consist of processing special categories of data on a large scale (e.g. criminal convictions or revealing political opinions, etc.).
“The hospitality industry warmly welcomes the result of the trilogue negotiations for SMEs not to be obliged to use the services of a DPO while their core business is not data processing. Indeed, 91% of the hospitality industry is composed of micro enterprises for which any administrative and economic burden would be detrimental”, highlighted Christian de Barrin, CEO of HOTREC.
“SMEs are the backbone of the European economy. The Think Small First principle should apply to all pieces of new legislation. UEAPME is delighted that the voice of the SMEs has been heard at the highest level of the discussions”, stressed UEAPME Secretary General, Peter Faross.
HOTREC and UEAPME call on the Council of the EU and the European and Parliament to give their final approval to the text as agreed during the trilogue negotiations.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
