Brussels - The Data Protection Academy for Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership Region opened in Brussels today. The Academy is part of a five-day event organised within the 2nd high-level Data Protection Week by different European institutions and bodies (Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers (DG JUST), European Data Protection Board (EDPB), European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS)), Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), Support for Improvement in Governance and Management (SIGMA) Programme, German Development Agency (GIZ), Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA), and other partners.

Over the following days data protection authorities from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership Region will undergo training on data protection best practices, including oversight of public sector compliance, aspects of data protection ecosystem, role and independence of data protection authority, GDPR rules and implementation, and legal requirements and frameworks. 

This year’s Data Protection Week kicked off with opening remarks of the organising partners, followed by industry expert presentations and group discussions with the participants. 

Opening remarks were delivered by Louisa Klingvall, DG JUST, European Commission, Anu Talus, EDPB, Tanja Maras, Regional Cooperation Council (RCC),  Jelisaveta Tasev, ReSPA, Hrachik Yarmaloyan, GIZ, and Nick Thijs, OECD SIGMA.

According to Balkan Barometer 2024, in the past year 65% of Western Balkan citizens admitted spending over 2 hours online every day. Only 21% of internet users across the globe feel confident that their data is being used for proper purposes, underscoring the need for faster mainstreaming of public’s data protection awareness and accelerated strengthening of data protection authorities of the Western Balkans, Eastern Partnership Region and the EU counterparts. 

As part of the Common Regional Market’s Digital Agenda, in addition to data protection, RCC is actively supporting the region in its streamlining with EU Digital Single Market (DSM) policies and bridging connectivity gaps, including strengthening regional innovation community through digital competitions such as Balkathon and Butterfly Innovation Award, and among other initiatives, fostering dialogue on importance of cybersecurity with Western Balkans High-Level Cybersecurity Conference.