On 15 June 2015, the European Council of Ministers reached agreement on its version of the draft Data Protection Regulation .  Trilogue negotiations between the Council, the European Parliament and the EU Commission will start next week on 24 June, witht he aim of reaching a final agreement by the end of 2015.

The One Stop Shop remains and companies will in the future deal with a single national Data Protection Authority, making it easier to do business across the EU. The Council endorses the principle of the right to be forgotten, but says it is not an absolute right. The Council’s view is that fines should be a maximum of €1 million or 2% of a company’s annual worldwide turnover (instead of up to €100 million or 5% of annual turnover as proposed by the European Parliament).

The EU has been trying to reach an agreement on the draft Data Protection Regulation for over 3 years now, and the proposed Regulation is one of the most heavily lobbied pieces of legislation in EU history. Once fully agreed by the Council, Parliament and Commission, companies and data protection authorities will have a two year transitional period to adapt to the new Regulation.

A European Commission Press Release on the proposed Regulation is available here.