The European Commission Publishes Draft UK Adequacy Decision

What has happened?

• The European Commission has published its draft decision on February 19, 2021 granting data protection adequacy status to the UK under Article 45(3) of the GDPR.
• The draft decision is currently under review by the European Data Protection Board, which will issue its opinion (not binding) in the coming weeks.
• For the draft decision to be adopted as final, it will still have to be approved by a committee of representatives of EU Member States.

What are the main implications of this draft decision?

The UK left the EU on January 31, 2020. The EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement established the free flow of personal data from the EU to the UK during a transition period of up to six months. If within that timeframe the European Commission adopts a decision declaring the adequacy of the UK, the transition period will terminate and the free flow of data from the EU to the UK will continue.