On Tuesday 30 January, European Commissioner Vĕra Jourová and her colleague, Andrus Ansip, met up with several business organisations to discuss a number of subjects including implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which enters into force on 25 May next.
The European Union for Craft and Small and Medium Enterprises (UEAPME) attended this meeting and expressed uncertainty about national level implementation. Last week, the European Commission announced that only two member states, Germany and Austria, had so far taken the necessary measures to comply with the new rules (see EUROPE 11946).
UEAPME Secretary General Véronique Willems explained, “It is almost surreal to pretend from SMEs to comply with the GDPR by 25 May when today, less than 4 months away, Member States have still not completed the necessary work to prepare the right environment”. SMEs are afraid that they do not have enough time to prepare for all the provisions with which they are supposed to comply, explained the UEAPME.
Following on from the European Commission, the UEAPME also called on the member states and national data protection authorities to speed up their work and efforts to carry out awareness campaigns at a national level and promote dialogue with the different stakeholders. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)