Pursuant to Art. 27(1) GDPR, companies not established in the European Union are legally obliged in certain cases to appoint a representative in the European Union, the so-called EU Representative.
Which companies are affected?
The duty to appoint an EU Representative applies to controllers and processors that fall within the scope of Art. 3(2) GDPR. These are controllers and processors who process data on a regular basis and/or process data of a special categories pursuant to Art. 9 or 10 GDPR and whose data processing is related to
- offering goods or services to data subjects in the European Union, and/or
- monitoring the behavior of data subjects, to the extent that their behavior takes place in the European Union.
Data processing by public authorities or public bodies is excluded.
What are the duties of the EU Representative?
The EU Representative is appointed by the controller or processor to answer, in addition to or on behalf of the controller or processor, all questions related to the processing and compliance with the provisions of the GDPR. The EU Representative acts as a point of contact for data subjects and supervisory authorities. However, the appointment of an EU Representative does not affect the liability of the controller or processor under the GDPR.
How can this obligation be fulfilled and what is important to consider?
EU Representatives can be natural or legal persons who have their establishment in one of the member states in which the data subjects are located. The appointment
- must be made in writing and
- must be communicated to the data subjects (e.g. on the company website).
In practice, it is advisable to appoint a natural or legal person as EU Representative who has in-depth knowledge of data protection and the GDPR. This is important because the EU Representative serves as a point of contact for data subjects as well as supervisory authorities. The best option is therefore to look for a service provider that is based in an EU Member State, is aware of the function of an EU Representative and can provide this service.
Click here for the PLANIT // LEGAL service offer to take over the function of the EU Representative.