With the clock ticking to the European Parliament elections in May, the European Parliament and European Council have informally agreed on penalties against European political parties which deliberately breaching data protection to tamper with EU elections
The aim is to protect the electoral process from online disinformation campaigns based on misuse of voters’ personal data.
Some recent cases, like the Facebook / Cambridge Analytica scandal, show how the vulnerabilities of data protection systems may undermine democratic debate and free elections.
The draft law would introduce financial sanctions on European political parties or foundations that infringe data protection rules deliberately to influence or attempt to influence the outcome of European elections.
Sanctions would amount to 5% of the annual budget of the European political party or foundation concerned. In addition, those found to be in breach would not be able to apply for funding from the general budget of the European Union in the year in which the sanction is imposed.
In practice, once a national supervisory authority decides that such an infringement has occurred, and when the Authority for European political parties and foundations is informed about this decision, the latter can trigger the verification procedure, which can lead to a financial penalty being imposed.
The deal will go to the Constitutional Affairs Committee on January 29 and then to the plenary in March for approval. It must also be approved by the Council before it can enter into force.
The regulation will be binding and directly applicable in all member states on the day of its publication in the EU Official Journal.
The European Commission welcomed Wednesday’s provisional agreement between member states and the European Parliament.
First Vice-President Frans Timmermans said: “This agreement is good news. It will contribute to bolstering our democratic resilience just in time for the European elections”
Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Věra Jourová added: “We have seen how personal data can be misused for manipulation in election times. Strong data protection rules are crucial to protect the upcoming European elections. We expect European political parties to fully respect them, so that Europeans can cast their vote being fully and fairly informed during the campaign.”
Background
The procedure for the elections to the European Parliament is governed by the national provisions of each member state. In addition, European political parties will also organise their own campaigns at European level. One of their purposes is to promote the lead candidates’ process for the election of the European Commission President.
The European Commission put forward the proposal as part of a package focusing on free and fair European elections, as announced in the last State of the Union speech. The new provisions amend the 2014 regulation on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations.
