Ombudsman opens inquiry into Commission’s silence on EU privacy chief

The EU Ombudsman has opened an inquiry into the European Commission’s failure to respond to concerns about the appointment process for the next European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS).

The Commission now has until 12 September to either reply to the complainant or acknowledge receipt of the letter setting out the concerns and indicate when it will reply, the office told Euronews.  

The inquiry only concerns the Commission's failure to reply to the complainant, not the broader issues addressed in the letter.

Euronews previously reported that the EU Ombudsman has received two complaints about the ongoing process for selecting the new EDPS, which is responsible for overseeing whether the EU institutions comply with data protection rules.

The mandate of the current EDPS, Poland’s Wojciech Wiewiórowski expired in December last year, but no decision has yet been taken on who should replace him.

The complaint, seen by Euronews, relates to the Commission's failure to reply to a letter of June signalling concerns that a conflict of interest might attach to one of the candidates. Von der Leyen didn't reply or acknowledge receipt of the letter.

A short list of candidates for the role selected by the Commission appeared in hearings in January, but following these hearings the European Parliament and EU member states backed different candidates for the role.

The Parliament’s Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee, LIBE, voted to appoint long-time Commission official Bruno Gencarelli, from Italy, while the member states are backing Wiewiórowski to stay on for another mandate.

Gencarelli’s candidature raised questions from think tank the Centre for AI & Digital Humanism and a group of privacy academics in March. He spent 12 years working in managerial roles on data protection at the Commission, and was formerly a head of the executive's International Affairs and Data Flows Unit.

Their concerns expressed to the Parliament and Commission presidents as well as the Council Presidency, were never answered.