Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) heard in camera the three candidates shortlisted by the Commission (see EUROPE 12360/12) for the post of European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) on Wednesday 20 November.
According to one European source, the hearings were very structured: each candidate had 5 minutes to introduce himself and 25 minutes to answer the four questions sent to him in advance.
There were no follow-up questions, no Member States were invited to take the floor, and there was no debate between Member States following the hearings, according to the same source. It is therefore difficult at this stage to predict the outcome of the indicative vote to establish an order of preference, a vote that will take place at Coreper on Friday 22 November (see EUROPE 12364/5).
During their hearings, all three candidates allegedly brought up their involvement in data protection at European level. On this point, the Pole Wojciech Wiewiórowski, the Assistant Supervisor who took over the reins of the institution after Giovanni Buttarelli’s death at the end of August (see EUROPE 12310/13), undoubtedly has an advantage. But the Frenchman Yann Padova and the Hungarian Endre Győző Szabó each brought their experience as representatives of their national data protection authorities to the European Data Protection Board.
When asked to detail the three main future challenges for the EDPS, the candidates reportedly all mentioned technological developments, according to our source. The French candidate also placed particular emphasis on artificial intelligence. They also referred to the protection of the European data protection model and the need to strike the right balance between the need for security and the need to protect the privacy of Europeans.
The candidates also presented their vision of the role of the EU and the EDPS in the international dimension of data protection and how they intend to manage the dual role of the EDPS, which is both a supervisor and an advisor for the European institutions. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)