Seven EU lawmakers will fly to Dublin to discuss the implementation of EU data protection law with Irish regulators, policymakers and stakeholders.

The visit is organized by the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (LIBE), which led the work on this file in the European Parliament. It will last for two days from September 21 to 23.

“The mission will focus on the application of the General Data Protection Regulation [RGPD] It will also include visits and meetings with the Data Protection Commissioner, leading tech companies and other stakeholders.”reads an internal email seen by EURACTIV.

The draft program seen by EURACTIV does not yet provide details of who MEPs will meet, as lawmakers are asked to provide written comments. He still plans to meet with NGOs, lawyers, academics, big tech companies and startups, as well as the Irish Parliament’s Justice Committee.

According to a source familiar with the matter, a regular participant in the data protection debate in Ireland is Johnny Ryan, a member of the Irish Civil Liberties Council (ICLC).

“The Committee has legitimate concerns about the application of the GDPR to Ireland. Ireland’s lack of enforcement has crippled the EU’s ability to regulate Big Tech.CILC’s Mr Ryan, who has been one of the strongest critics of the Irish Data Protection Authority, said:

EU lawmakers will meet Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon on the final day of their visit. Ireland’s privacy watchdog has been at the center of controversy over delays in implementing the European Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as most major tech companies fall under its jurisdiction.

“If Helen Dixon doesn’t want to come to LIBE, LIBE will come to Helen Dixon”, a European Parliament official told EURACTIV. Last year, Commissioner M.S. He recalled that Dixon had asked the committee at a previous hearing to respond to allegations about his work. However, they refused to participate due to the format of the meeting.

Furthermore, the mission aims to follow a resolution adopted by the European Parliament in March 2021, which strongly criticized the Data Protection Authority for trying to impose legal costs on the plaintiff in the sketchy Schrems II case and called on the Commission to open it. Infringement proceedings against Ireland for non-application of the GDPR.

The list of MEPs has not yet been confirmed, but is expected to include Birgit Sippel for the Social Democrats and Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield for the Greens.

The name of Conservative MP Axel Voss, who is a staunch critic of the GDPR, was the first to appear. However, he will ultimately be unable to attend due to obligations in Germany, EURACTIV said.

According to a second European Parliament official, the intention of MEPs is “Keep the pressure on” Irish data protection authority to speed up enforcement of big tech companies

In fact, the mission comes at a critical time for data protection laws in Europe. The data protection commissioner sent a draft notice to his peers on July 7, which stops the transfer of data to the United States by the social networks of Meta, Facebook and Instagram. Other national authorities have one month to make their contributions.