The European Association of Co-operative Banks (EACB) welcomes the opportunity to comment on the draft Commission Implementing Decision on standard contractual clauses for the transfer of personal data to third countries pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council. Overall, the EACB members appreciate the initiative to update the standard contractual clauses, in light of recent developments in ECJ case-law, and believe that many parts of the document are suited to address current problems in international data transfer.
However, there are multiple parts of the standard contractual clauses under consultation that pose significant problems in their practical implementation. Major concerns for the EACB members relate to the burden imposed on data exporters to assess the adequacy of the legal system of data importers in protecting the rights of data subjects, as well as to doubts about how the obligation to suspend the transfer of data in certain cases would reconcile with banks’ necessity to ensure operational continuity.