Today, only 2 days after consensus was reached on the final text of the new EU Data Protection Regulation, the first step has been taken to officially adopt the law and enter a new era of data protection.  This morning, the Parliament’s Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (LIBE) formally adopted the text for the new law on the protection of personal data in the European Union. Being the result of almost 4 years of negotiation, the final text of the new “GDPR” was backed by 48 votes to 4, with 4 abstentions.

The Regulation still has to be approved by the Council and has then to undergo the final full parliament vote announced for March or April 2016 , before it will finally apply in 2018.

The official press release of the Parliament (LIBE) can be found here.

For more detailed information on the content of the final text, please see our latest GDPR Client Alert or contact your regular Crowell & Moring contact.