JAVIER ZARZALEJOS CHAIRS LIBE COMMISSION MEETING ELECTING BRUNO GENCARELLI AS THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT’S CANDIDATE FOR EUROPEAN DATA PROTECTION SUPERVISOR

The European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), under the chairmanship of Javier Zarzalejos, has selected Bruno Gencarelli as its preferred candidate for the post of European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) in a vote held last Thursday, January 16.

In a secret ballot, MEPs on the committee ranked the four candidates for the post, with the following results:

• Bruno Gencarelli: 32 votes
• François Pellegrini: 30 votes
• Wojciech Wiewiórowski: 26 votes
• Anna Pouliou: 11 votes

Prior to the vote, the candidates participated in a hearing with MEPs, addressing key issues such as the relationship between security and fundamental rights, data retention and law enforcement, as well as the impact of new technologies on data protection.

The election of EDPS is a crucial step in ensuring privacy and monitoring compliance with data protection rules in the EU. This is the first step at the parliamentary level to conclude the inter-institutional process of electing the EDPS.