August has come and gone, and the European institutions are back from their summer break. The coming weeks will likely bring more clarity on the consequences of the Schrems-II decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union at the start of the summer. The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has announced further guidance on the required “additional appropriate safeguards” is forthcoming, and the European Commission is in the process of finalizing a whole new set of Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs). The first indications of what is coming were given on Thursday, during a hearing of the European Parliament committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE). The LIBE committee heard from Commissioner Didier Reynders (Justice), EDPB Chair Andrea Jelinek as well as from Max Schrems himself. All three commented both on the judgment itself and on the way forward.
Mr. Reynders recognised the Schrems-II ruling is an important political and geopolitical issue, that will not be easy to solve. Conversations with the U.S. on a possible new data transfer framework have commenced, but it is impossible at this stage to provide a clear timeline. Especially the upcoming U.S. elections, as well as the likely need for Congress to be involved in any new agreement, exclude any quick fix. The Commissioner explained that the Commission wants to get it right this time, which also includes a completely new set of model clauses, that will take into account the conditions set by the Court. Mr. Reynders indicated that the draft standard contractual clauses – which will also align the clauses with the GDPR – are likely to be published in the coming weeks as part of a consultation procedure, with the aim to have them adopted by the en ..
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