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Today, we've sent an open letter to @EU_EDPB, @EU_Commission, @Europarl_EN, regarding the appointment of the new Director of the Croatian DPA, which breaches EU law, threatens fundamental rights of EU citizens and undermines the independence of the institution.
Today, we've sent an open letter to @EU_EDPB, @EU_Commission, @Europarl_EN, regarding the appointment of the new Director of the Croatian DPA, which breaches EU law, threatens fundamental rights of EU citizens and undermines the independence of the institution.
On May 18, the Croatian Parliament appointed Mr. Zdravko Vukić as the new director of Croatia's Data Protection Supervisory Authority (Agencija za zaštitu osobnih podataka – AZOP). For a start, Mr. Vukić does not meet the minimum legal requirements for the position.
He doesn't have any relevant experience in data protection law and practice, the latter being an obligatory condition for a candidate set forth by GDPR and the Croatian Act on the Implementation of GDPR. Also, he lacks any additional training or education on data protection.
He listed dealing with general administrative affairs in a public roads maintenance company as his professional experience relevant for the position of the DPA Director. Apparently, he was the authorized person for the protection of personal data.
Occasional dealings with data protection (if any) in a road maintenance company hardly make Mr. Vukić a “prominent expert with a professional reputation and professional knowledge and experience in the field of personal data protection“ (Croatian GDPR Act)
Furthermore, Mr. Vukić’s appointment is widely recognized as a political appointment, not only due to his lack of relevant credentials, but also because of his membership of at least four political parties - the last one being the ruling Croatian Democratic Union.
Due to his ties with the ruling party, he is in an evident and constant situation of conflict of interest, making him unfit for the position of DPA director - or head position of any other independent monitoring institution.
We urged EC to swiftly launch a formal infringement procedure against Croatia. We asked EDPB to develop guidelines on appointments of DPA directors, which should suggest stringent cooling-off periods. EP has to take into account this case when monitoring rule of law in Croatia.
You can read the entire open letter here: https://ln2.sync.com/dl/7107782e0/view/doc/4355281620010#mgjay48f-tygpwhdi-vfpqiskf-sqet2wjb
