Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection evaluates that lateness in securing preconditions for real start of application of the Personal Data Protection Act is worrying. The Commissioner considers that this would probably result in harmful consequences for implementing some priority foreign policy objectives, like the EU membership candidate status and visa regime liberalization, so called „White Schengen" and which is even more important also for protection and exercising the rights of citizens guaranteed by the Constitution and the Law. Therefore it is high time to analyze contribution that various subjects give in establishing these objectives and to open the question of responsibility for shortcomings, irrational use of resources and failure in performing one's obligations. In relation to that, the Commissioner has also stated as follows:
„In the context of achieving the quoted objectives, our task was to adopt necessary legislation for protection of personal data, and to implement its provisions, including establishment of independent supervisory authority for data protection.
A new Personal Data Protection Act has been passed by the National Assembly already 3 months ago. Unfortunately, besides the warning of the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection and Ombudsman, provisions on limiting the necessary authorizations of the supervisory body have been included in the text-body of the Law, which from the standpoint of confirmed EU standards are not in line with the necessary independent position of that authority. That is, they are not in line with the possibility to secure real personal data protection. It would be very good to eliminate those shortcomings as soon as possible, and that could be done, if not by amendments to the just adopted Personal Data Protection Act, then during adoption of the Secret Data Classification Act, which should also be independently passed as soon as possible.
Speaking about establishing independent supervisory body, during the three months since the Law has been adopted very little has been done. And it has been envisaged that this role should be assumed by the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance. Actually, if the Commissioner hadn't prepared new enactments on Service Organization and if the National Assembly hasn't really quickly given consent for these, regarding the conditions in which it operates, one could say that almost nothing has been done.
Although I have pointed out to that already during the time of Law proposal, more than half a year ago, the problem of inadequate space for the work of the Service has remained identical, and even if finally long-announced relative improvement in those services would happen, it is sure that they shall still remain significantly below the real needs. In any case, in this moment the Commissioner works with 10 times smaller number of collaborators than the envisaged number.
In relation to that, it is completely certain that due to rigid, bureaucratic approach to planning budget funds problems shall appear regarding securing funds for engaging at least a little bigger number of collaborators. The current attitudes of the Ministry of Finance regarding that question are completely ignoring the real needs and also staff estimates of the Commissioner, despite the fact that the National Assembly gave its consent for them.
We expect immediate visits of the European Commission's Monitors. The Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection regardless of the quoted problems tries and shall try, in cooperation with the subjects like UNDP and OSCE to do what can be done in order to present them with certain results. Compilation activities on New Law Guide have been already initiated, new web site has also been constructed, the contents of which shall be constantly updated for better education and implementation. The work on preparation of elements for compilation of Strategy for New Law Implementation has been also initiated, and I shall propose its adoption to the Government of Serbia. I suppose that the EU Monitoring Authorities shall evaluate these efforts in the right way, but it is still a big question in which measure they can improve their evaluation about our progress in the personal data protection field.
I remind that unfortunately in the European Commission Progress Report for 2008 evaluation has been given that we haven't progressed enough. I think that it is necessary for us to do everything we can in order to improve that evaluation. I have a feeling that many who are responsible for that are not doing everything they can, but they are not doing even the things they should have done."
