Aspects of Legal Regulation of Protecting Personal Data in the EU Internal Market

Abstract

The paper features an aspect of combining economic freedoms of the European Union internal market and the protection of human rights shown on the example of protecting personal data the observance of which is especially topical. The internal market as a centre of European integration is a significant achievement of the European integration but its potential is not fully grasped. The legal regulation of the internal market should be harmonized with the modern conditions including technological progress, which impedes the respect of the rights to the protection of personal data and creates a barrier on the way to implement economic freedoms of the internal market. To identify the meaning of respecting rights in protecting personal data, the author examines some documents of the European Commission, including the Strategy for the single market, annual reviews of growth, reports on applying the EU Charter. In particular, an instrument to raise the efficiency of the single internal market is the protection of personal data. The right to the protection of personal data is specified in the acts of primary and secondary European Union law. A special attention is given to the reform of the EU regulation in this regard, especially The General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679. The paper compares the applicable Data Protection Directive 95/46. The reform introduces a single legal regulation for the whole EU, which will enforce the right to the protection of personal data and save the entrepreneurs from excessive expenses. Besides, the paper draws attention to the EU Court practice. The latter reminds the EU institutes and member states about the obligation to observe the EU Charter related to the protection of personal data.