EU expected to permit data to flow into the UK

The European Commission will continue to allow data to flow freely into the UK from EU nations, the Financial Times has reported.

The commission has drafted a decision, stating that the UK has an adequate set of rules and regulations around safeguarding personal data, which should be signed off before the end of the week.

The decision will be a relief to many UK businesses, alleviating at least some of the pressure and uncertainty facing firms in the aftermath of Brexit.

The European Commission’s decision will still be scrutinized by the European Data Protection Board before taking effect, but the body ultimately has not power to stand in the way.

According to Vera Jourova, EU VP for Values and Transparency, the proximity of the UK to the EU bloc has given the nation a head start where a data transfer agreement is concerned.

“At the same time we should ensure that any adequacy finding concerning the UK will be future-proof,” she said. “We will need to be very vigilant that such developments do not undermine the level of protection we would have found to be adequate.”

Despite having left the European Union, the UK will still need to align with certain EU standards, including those around data security. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), for example, which came into force almost three years ago, dictates how businesses should handle the data of EU citizens.

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