2015

On September 23, 2015, Advocate General of the European Court of Justice Yves Bot issued his Opinion in the case of Max Schrems, which is currently pending before the Court of Justice of the European Union (The CJEU). In the opinion, the Advocate General provided his views concerning two key issues related to the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Framework: (1) the powers of national data protection authorities to investigate and suspend international data transfers made under the Safe Harbor Framework and (2) the ongoing validity of the European Commission 's Safe Harbor adequacy decision. It is yet to be seen whether the CJEU will reach the same conclusions as the Advocate General. In the interim, it is likely that this Opinion will increase the pressure on U.S. and EU government authorities to reach agreement on a revised U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Framework.

EU Commissioner, Vera Jourová, told the 37th International Privacy Conference in Amsterdam that the ECJ 's decision in the Schrems case "reaffirms once more that personal data protection is a fundamental right and that it applies also when personal data is transferred to third countries".

The Commission respects the Court's ruling and will abide by it. And so must all stakeholders!" She continued: "Too many Internet users today do not trust the Internet. Two thirds of them in the EU do not feel in complete control of their personal data. Another 42% worry that their online payments are not safe. We must always bear in mind that a strong economy and a thriving society rest primarily on one powerful human feeling, trust. This is why we launched in 2012 the data protection reform. The negotiations are now in the final stages, and I confident that a final result will be reached by the end of this year."

"Georgia 's Ministry of Labour, Healthcare, and Social Affairs has announced plans to create a database of foreigners employed in the country, in order to ensure that only those with the legal right to work in Georgia are able to do so. Elza Jgerenaia, Head of the Ministry 's Labour and Employment Department, commented: ""Information on who is a labour immigrant, what post he or she occupies, what are his or her qualifications will have a positive impact on the development of a competitive labour environment."" The data will also provide information on positions and skills that are in particular demand from Georgian employers. This in turn will support the development of a new employment policy. ""We will know what professions are in demand and in what sectors we need to retrain manpower, so that employers will not have to allocate additional funds seeking labour from abroad,"" Jgerenaia explained."