CoE Legal+Human Rights Director Giakoumopoulos to EF: Europe may go Global on Data Protection

*Strasbourg/COE/Angelo Marcopolo/- The New CoE's Director General for Legal and Human Rights Affairs, Christos Giakoumopoulos from Greece, speaking to "Eurofora" after an International Conference, with key participants from all Continents of the World, on the Perspectives of the New EU and CoE Legal Tools for Personal Data Protection in the foreseable Future, that he Opened with an official speech at the PanEuropean COE's Headquarters in Strasbourg, pointed, in substance, to the Fact that Europe may, Nowadays, - thanks to EU-CoE close Cooperation, particularly in that area, and CoE's original Convention System,- develop also a much Wider, Global Impact in this Key Issue on Digital Technologies :

- EU and CoE have closely followed each other's recent efforts to Modernise their relevant Legal Tools, with EU's recent New Directive in that matter, which has just entered into force on May 2018, and CoE's New Version, adopted Earlier on 2018, of its Pioneer, Historic Convention "for the Protection of Individuals with regard to the Processing of Personal Data", with Experts striving to Coordinate their moves.

 - But EU's Legal System is, in principle, Focused mainly on its 28 Member States, (27 if the UK's BREXIT is soon realized), while the PanEuropean CoE, in Addition to its 47 Member States, (including Russia, etc), has also a Particular Characteristic in many among its Legal Conventions : They can (and Often are, as in the Presenrt Case) "Also Open to Any Other, 3rd Country, even Non-Member of this Organisation, and even Beyond Europe, from All over the World, Giakoumopoulos observed.

+ AnOther such relevant Case is, f.ex., also CoE's "Budapest" Convention for the Fight against "Cyber-Crime", where f.ex., in addition to Russia, it's also, often, several Key participants from the USA who take place in its widely attended Annual Conferences in Strasbourg, a Next one being, currently, Scheduled for July 2018.

=> Thus, f.ex., CoE's relevant Convention for Personal Data Protection has Already as many as 52 Member States, in its Classic Version. And, Today, during the above-mentioned Conference, several Key Participants, also from Other Continents of the World, confirmed the current Perspectives for many Important New Accessions to Both, Old and New, "Modernized" Version(s) of that landmark Legal Treaty, including, f.ex., Representatives from Mexico, Argentina, Morocco, Ghana, New Zealand, etc., (while Others, as Tunisia and Capo Verde, etc, have Already become recently Members), to which are also Added Nowadays probable Estimations even for South Korea, Japan, Chile, etc.

- Experienced CoE's Deputy Secretary General, Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni, from Italy, who gave a Concluding Speech at the Closing Session of Today's International Conference, significantly went as Far as to even, Characteristically  ...Play with Words and Express her Wish for COE's New, "Modernized" Version of its Landmark, Pioneer PanEuropean Convention for the protection of Individuals whenever their Personal Data are Processed, to Be Soon Named : "Global" Convention !...

- Nowadays, about "126 Countries", accross the World, already have some kind of "Data Protection Laws", more or less well developed, observed, meanwhile, Professor Graham Greenleaf, from Australia, before going down to more concrete Details about his Estimations on their most probable stance vis a vis Cooperation with Europe on this Topical Issue.

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- In fact, "what Counts most for the CoE, is that this Convention has Human Rights at its core, which currently, Face notorious Challenges in a "Connected" Environment of various Digital Communication Technologies, Giakoumopoulos went on to stress, as a matter of Principle.

+ Indeed, other Participants in this Conference, pointed also to the Fact that even the Modernized, New Version of the above-mentioned CoE's Convention makes an Explicit Reference to the Core Value of "Human Dignity".

CoE had, in fact, Already Drafted its main Text quite a Long Time Ago, but it had, Meanwhile, to Solve at least 2 Serious Problems : Find a workable Compromise mainly with Russia, (as far as it concerns Trans-Border Flow of Data and USA's role, as well as Security Issues, etc), and Discuss, moreover, how to Coordinate Efficiently with EU's parallel work on its Recent Directive, (Comp. Supra).

The Next Step for that CoE's "Convention 108", as it's Traditionaly nick-named, (Nowadays' New Version Adding a "Plus" after its Name, i.e. resulting in "Convention 108+"), is currently Scheduled for the forthcoming Autumn of 2018, when Dozens of Countries are Expected to Sign the "Modernized" Legal Document, whose Entry into Force has been Fixed by CoE's Highest Political Body, that of its Committee of Ministers, at the Threshhold of at least 37 Countries, a Number reportedly due to be reached in the next few years, if not even earlier.

The main point is that, Now, a Key Movement has Started, with a Political Will to Help it Spread World-wide, at the Greater possible Extend, in this particularly Global Issue.

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