On July 25, the European Commission referred Greece and Spain to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failing to implement the Data Protection Law Enforcement Directive (Directive (EU) 2016/680) within their own countries. In April 2016, the European Council and the European Parliament had agreed that the Directive had to be transposed into national law by May 6, 2018. Greece and Spain are the only two nations who haven’t notified the Commission on whether this directive has been transposed through national laws. The European Commission had commenced infringement proceedings against Greece, Spain and 5 other member states (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Latvia, the Netherlands, and Slovenia) in July 2018 by sending a formal notice to respective national authorities. It sent reasoned opinions to the 7 states in January 2019. European Commission to Court of Justice: Impose financial sanctions on Greece and Spain The European Commission wants the Court of Justice of the EU to impose financial sanctions on the two nations. Greece: Lump sum of €5,287.50/day between the day after the deadline for transposition (that is, May 7, 2018) and either compliance by Greece or date of delivery of the judgement; minimum lump sum of €1.3 million, and penalty of €22,169.70/day from day of first judgement until full compliance or second judgement. Spain: Lump sum of €21,321/day between the day after the deadline for transposition (that is, May 7, 2018) and either compliance by Greece or date of delivery of the judgement; minimum lump sum of €5.29 million, and…
