MEPs Andreas Schwab (EPP, German) and Pablo Arias Echeverría (EPP, Spanish), in a letter to the Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, Michael McGrath, expressed their “concerns” about Ireland’s ability, during its Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which began on 1 July, to “neutrally oversee” negotiations on the main European digital files, such as the simplification of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) under the “Digital Omnibus” (see EUROPE 13894/26).
In light of what they describe as a “systematic failure” in the enforcement of the GDPR and because of “its economic alignment with large non-EU technology firms”, they call on the Commission “to monitor and be more vocal regarding Ireland’s systemic failure to fully apply the GDPR, and to ensure this failure does not compromise upcoming EU legislative negotiations” in a letter dated 1 July seen by Agence Europe, insisting that “the integrity of the Digital Single Market and the protection of European citizens require objective, unwavering enforcement of EU law”.
In their letter, they stress that “Ireland’s (...) heavy fiscal reliance on a small number of technology conglomerates introduces potential conflicts of interest regarding robust regulatory enforcement”, given that “just three U.S. firms accounted for over half of Ireland’s corporate tax revenue in 2024”.
They also highlight the “lack of concluded inquiries” and the fact that Ireland has not completed a single EU investigation into Google or its subsidiaries over the decade since the GDPR entered into force. Measures have often been imposed by the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), citing the €1.2 billion fine imposed on Meta in 2023, but the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has still not recovered “a significant share” of the large fines imposed. According to them, all these elements “cast serious doubt on the regulatory independence”.
They also denounce the appointment of the new Data Protection Commissioner in Ireland: “no adequate vetting was conducted regarding possible conflicts of interest (such as active stock options or non-disparagement agreements)”, which led to the appointment of a former Meta lobbyist. They also recall that, in 2024, the previous Irish Data Protection Commissioner brought an action before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) seeking the annulment of a majority decision by the EDPB requiring the opening of an investigation into Meta’s processing of users’ sensitive data. That action was dismissed by the Court and the person concerned “has since transitioned to private practice at a law firm representing Meta”. See the letter: https://aeur.eu/f/mrt (Original version in French by Ana Pisonero Hernández)