Meeting with the Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency

On March 31, AmCham launched its first Data Protection Task Force meeting by hosting Mr. Patricio Petrić, Senior Advisor at the Department for International Cooperation, European and Legal Affairs, and Ms. Marija Pušić, Public Relations Officer from the Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency. AmCham organized a meeting with the Agency in order to motivate a dialogue on the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). National regulatory changes for Data Protection are planned for the Q3 of 2017 and the implementation date for the GDPR is May 25, 2018. Considering a number of novelties in the GDPR and the proscribed fine of up to 10,000,000 euros, or up to 2% of the annual worldwide turnover of the preceding financial year in case of an enterprise, whichever is greater (Article 83), it is not surprising that there is great interest from companies to ensure full compliance with the Regulation.

It was agreed that a series of expert-level consultations with specific industries including ICT, health care and financial institutions will be organized on interpretation of specific provisions of the GDPR. Furthermore, an event will be organized towards the end of 2017 on regulatory changes and the implementation of the GDPR for AmCham members.

Mr. Petrić welcomed the idea of the meeting, concluding that it was a good platform to initiate mutually beneficial cooperation, for the AmCham members to clarify on some of their concerns, but also for the Agency to better identify priorities for the implementation of the GDPR.