PRIVACY POLICY
Personal data protection
The European Commission is committed to user privacy.
The policy on protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the European Union institutions is based on the Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 on the protection of personal data by the EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies.
This policy covers all the European Commission’s websites within the ec.europa.eu domain. Although you can browse through most of these websites without giving any personal information, in some cases information is required in order to provide the e-services you request.
Websites that require such information treat it in full compliance with the regulation above and provide information about the use of your data in their specific privacy policy statements.
In this respect
- for each e-service, a controller ensures conformity with the privacy policy
- for the European Commission, the Data Protection Officer ensures that the regulation is applied and advises controllers on fulfilling their obligations
- for all the institutions, the European Data Protection Supervisor acts as an independent supervisory authority
The European Commission’s websites within the ec.europa.eu domain may provide links to third-party sites. In order to use third party content on our websites, you may need to accept their specific terms and conditions, including their cookie policies over which we have no control.
e-services
An e-service on Europa is a service or resource that improve communication between people and the European institutions.
3 types of e-services are offered by Europa
- information services that provide easy and effective access to information
- interactive communication services to facilitate policy consultations and feedback
- transaction services that allow basic forms of transactions with the EU, such as procurement, financial operations, recruitment, event enrollment, and ordering documents
Information contained in a specific privacy statement
A specific privacy policy statement will contain the following information about the use of your data
- what information is collected
- for what purpose it is collected
- the technical means by which it is collected
- who sees your information
- how you can access, verify its accuracy and correct your information
- how long your data is kept
- what security measures are taken to safeguard your information
- who to contact if you have questions or complaints
Europa Analytics
Europa Analytics is the corporate service that measures the effectiveness and efficiency of the European Commission’s websites on Europa.
You are free to refuse the use of this service – either via the cookie banner that appears at the top of the first page you visit or at Europa Analytics.
Choosing not to use this service does not affect your navigation experience on Europa sites.
Contacting Europa sites
Many web pages on Europa have a contact button, which activates your email software and invites you to send your comments to a specific mailbox.
When you send such a message, your personal data is only collected in order to reply.
Your email will be forwarded to another service if the team responsible for the mailbox is unable to answer your question. An email will inform you about which service your question has been forwarded to.
If you have any questions about the processing of your email and related personal data, do not hesitate to include them in your message.
Safeguarding information
Collected personal data are stored by the European Commission under the Commission decision of January 2017 on the security of communication and information systems in the European Commission.
In those cases where collected personal data are stored on a computer of an external subcontractor acting as processor, they are bound by specific contractual clauses and by the confidentiality obligations deriving from the general data protection regulation of April 2016.