Britain wants UK-EU data flows to remain open after Brexit

Britain wants UK-EU data flows to remain open after Brexit

London wants data flows between the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) to remain open after Britain leaves the EU, Brexit Minister David Davis said on Thursday. Data flows between the UK and EU are crucial for our shared economic prosperity and for wider cooperation, including on law enforcement,” Davis said in a position paper issued by his Department for Exiting the EU. “It is therefore essential that, as part of the UK’s future relationship with the EU, we agree on arrangements that allow for free flows of data to continue based on mutual trust in each other’s high data-protection standards.”

Britain’s legislation on data will be compliant with European legislation when the country leaves the EU in March 2019 and they will be “practically identical”, according to Davis, who feels that a UK-EU model on the exchange and protection of personal data could ensure stability for companies and authorities.

“It would be in the interest of both the UK and the EU to agree early in the process to mutually recognize each other’s data protection networks,” the minister pointed out.

He noted that the EU’s digital economy was estimated at 272 billion euros in 2015, about 2% of the European bloc’s gross domestic product. It could increase to 643 billion euros – over 3% of the EU’s GDP – by 2020.


The Brussels Times


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