24 November 2020, online meeting 

The first Regional Meeting on Data Protection and GDPR Enforcement held online on 24 November 2020 gathered representatives from Western Balkan economies (WB) coming from institutions and authorities responsible for personal data protection and ICT ministries, Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), and representatives from European Commission (EC) DGs (DG NEAR and DG JUST). The meeting aimed to officialise the structured regional dialogue on data protection and discuss the next steps needed to be undertaken in WB economies towards alignment and enforcement of the respective EU acquis (i.e. GDPR). To facilitate the discussion and support WB with concrete proposals, the RCC has commissioned a study to assess the compliance of the legal framework in each WB economy with GDPR, including identification of challenges and needs in each economy. The draft report for each economy was shared with each economy prior to the meeting and was presented during the meeting by the consultants engaged. This meeting helped to officialise the launching of the regional dialogue on data protection and privacy, in particular on the enforcement of GDPR. It also constitutes the first step in the networking of Data Protection Agencies across the region. On behalf of our Agency, Mr. Ivan Medojević, director, attended the meeting.