On Thursday 14 July, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) and the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) adopted a joint opinion on the European Health Data Space.
In concrete terms, while the two entities welcome this proposal, presented by the Commission on 3 May (see EUROPE 12944/11), they also believe that caution should be exercised, particularly with regard to the secondary use of electronic health data, which must allow researchers and industrialists access to such data.
On this point, both entities recognise that the secondary use of data can “generate benefits for the public good”. However, they also call on the co-legislators to further delimit the purposes for which electronic health data may be further processed and to clarify when there is a sufficient link to public health and/or social security.
“The European Health Data Space will involve the processing of large quantity of personal data that are of a highly sensitive nature. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that the rights of individuals in the European Economic Area are not undermined in any way by this proposal”, said EDPB President Andrea Jelinek.
In addition, the joint opinion also calls on the European Parliament and the Council of the EU to introduce an obligation to store electronic health data within the European Economic Area and - because of the addition of “another layer to the already complex collection of provisions on the processing of health data” - to clarify the relationship between the provisions of the proposal, those of the General Data Protection Regulation, national legislation and current texts at EU level.
Finally, the EDPB and the EDPS advocate that data protection authorities should be the only competent authorities and remain “the sole point of contact for individuals on data protection issues”. “Overlapping competences should be avoided and the areas and requirements for cooperation should be clarified”, the two entities conclude.
See the joint opinion: https://aeur.eu/f/2o9 (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)