European supervisory groups

The Schengen Information System II Supervision Coordination Group

The Schengen Information System SIS II is supervised as follows: National Data Protection Authorities verify the lawfulness of personal data entered into the system by the country of origin, while the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) controls the lawfulness of the processing of data on the central database by the managing authority.

The EDPS and the national supervisory authorities cooperate closely within the Schengen Information System II Supervision Coordination Group (SIS II SCG). The Group, which is comprised of the national supervisory authorities and the EDPS, was established pursuant to Article 46 of Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 (SIS II) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on the establishment, operation and use of the SIS and pursuant to paragraph 3 of the same Article. The Hellenic DPA participates in this group, the meetings of which take place in the building of the European Parliament in Brussels at least twice a year, with one full member and one alternate member.

More about this supervision group, how data subjects can exercise their rights and other related issues can be found in the relevant section.

 

The Visa Information System Supervision Coordination Group

The Visa Information System (VIS) is supervised as follows: National Data Protection Authorities verify the lawfulness of personal data entered into the system by the country of origin, while the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) verifies the lawfulness of the processing of data on the central database by the managing authority.

The EDPS and the national supervisory authorities cooperate closely in the framework of the Visa Information System Supervision Coordination Group. The Group was established pursuant to Article 43 of Regulation (EC) No 767/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 on the VIS and the exchange of data between Member States on short-stay visas (VIS Regulation) and involves the national supervisory authorities and the EDPS. The Hellenic DPA participates in this Group, the meetings of which take place in the building of the European Parliament in Brussels at least twice a year, with one full member and one alternate.

The Hellenic HDPA had the vice-presidency of the Group for two years starting June 2018 until June 2020.

More about this supervision group, how data subjects can exercise their rights and other related issues can be found in the relevant section.

 

The Eurodac Supervision Coordination Group

Eurodac is supervised as follows: National Data Protection Authorities verify the lawfulness of personal data entered into the system by the country of origin, while the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) verifies the lawfulness of data processing on the central database by the managing authority, i.e. the European Agency for the Operational Management of Large Scale IT Systems (EU-Lisa).

The EDPS and the national supervisory authorities cooperate closely within the Eurodac Supervision Coordination Group. The Group was established pursuant to Article 32 of Regulation (EU) No 603/2013  of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on fingerprint comparison, and involves the national supervisory authorities and the EDPS. The Hellenic DPA participates in this Group, the meetings of which take place in the building of the European Parliament in Brussels at least twice a year, with one full member and one alternate.

The Hellenic DPA shall preside on the Group for two years, from November 2019 to November 2021.

More about this supervision group, how data subjects can exercise their rights and other related issues can be found in the relevant section.

 

Europol Cooperation Board

Europol  is the EU's law enforcement agency. Its mission is to help create a safer Europe by assisting police and law enforcement in the EU Member States and improving cooperation between them. From 01/05/2017, when Regulation (EU) 2016/794 (Europol Regulation) entered into force, the structure for supervising the processing of personal data is as follows: national Data Protection Authorities monitor the lawfulness of personal data provided by Member States to Europol, while the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) verifies the lawfulness of data processing by Europol.

The EDPS and the national supervisory authorities work closely together on specific issues that require the involvement of a Member State and must ensure the uniform application of the new Regulation throughout the European Union. This cooperation takes place within the framework of the Europol Cooperation Board, which has advisory taks and consists of a representative of the national supervisory authority of each Member State and the EDPS.

The Hellenic Data Protection Authority, which is responsible for overseeing the proper implementation of the data protection principles at the national level, is represented by a full member and an alternate member and participates in the meetings of the Europol Cooperation Board held in Brussels.