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Privacy Policy

Privacy policy of websites managed by the European Commission

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Introduction

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The European Commission is committed to protecting your personal data and respects your privacy on all websites within the europa.eu domain. This privacy policy concerning the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the European Commission is based on Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

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The privacy policy covers all European Commission websites within the ec.europa.eu domain, as well as EU interinstitutional websites within the europa.eu domain managed by the Commission. Users can browse most of these websites without providing personal data. However, there are some cases where the provision of an electronic service may require the communication of personal data. In such cases, the specific privacy statement linked to the relevant website provides more detailed information, such as which service to contact.

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In this regard:

• An operational manager ensures compliance with the specific privacy statement established for each electronic service; • The data protection officer independently ensures the internal application of the Regulation within the Commission and advises operational managers on their data protection obligations; • The European Data Protection Supervisor acts as an independent supervisory authority.

Information included in the specific privacy statements.

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When visiting other Commission websites, there are other specific privacy statements that contain the following information about the use of personal data:

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  • the processing of personal data and the purpose of said processing;

  • the legal basis for the processing of personal data;

  • what personal data is collected and processed;

  • how long they are preserved;

  • how they protect themselves;

  • who has access to personal data;

  • what are the rights of users and how can they exercise them;

  • who users can contact to ask questions or file complaints.

Electronic services

The electronic services of the ec.europa.eu websites are services or resources that improve communication between people and the European Commission.

The Commission's websites offer three types of electronic services:

  • information services, which facilitate easy and effective access to information;

  • interactive communication services, which facilitate consultation processes and response mechanisms;

  • transaction services, which allow access to basic procedures with the EU: contracting, financial operations, hiring staff, registration in acts and requesting documents.

Europe Analytics

Europa Analytics is the internal service that evaluates the effectiveness and efficiency of European Commission websites hosted on the Europa server. Users are free to opt out of this service, either via the cookie notice that appears at the top of the first page they visit or directly within Europa Analytics .

Choosing not to use this service will not affect your browsing experience on Commission websites hosted on the Europa server.

More information about Europa Analytics regarding European Commission websites

More information about Europa Analytics as it relates to websites in the European Union

IP address and device identifier

When you access a European Commission website, the Commission receives the Internet protocol address ("IP address") or device identifier used to access the website; this is an essential technical requirement.

Without this processing, it is not possible to establish a technical connection between users' devices and the server infrastructure managed by the European Commission, and therefore its websites cannot be accessed.

The European Commission only retains this information for as long as necessary to fulfill the request, i.e., for the duration of the browsing session. In addition, IP addresses and device identifiers may be stored for one year within the operational environment of the Directorate-General for Information Technology (DIGIT) for security or other purposes (for further information, see DIGIT Security Operations and Services DPR-EC-02886 ).

Cookies and third parties

Some Commission websites hosted on the Europa server use "first-party cookies", which are cookies generated and controlled by the Commission, and not by external organizations.

You can find more information about our cookies here .

Commission websites within the ec.europa.eu domain may contain links to third-party websites. To use third-party content on our websites, you may need to accept their specific terms and conditions, including their cookie policies, over which we have no control.

Protect the information

The Commission stores personal data collected pursuant to its Decision (EU, Euratom ) 2017/46 of 10 January 2017 on the security of the European Commission's information and communication systems.

The Commission's contractors are bound by a specific contractual clause regarding any processing of their data on behalf of the Commission, and must guarantee the level of data protection and confidentiality required by Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

Your rights as a person affected by the collection of data

You have the right to access your personal data held by the Commission and to request its rectification or erasure, or the restriction of its processing. Where applicable, you also have the right to object to such processing, as well as the right to data portability. If the processing is based on your consent or explicit consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

For any request relating to the processing of your personal data, you should contact the relevant operational manager (as indicated in the privacy statement relating to the specific processing activity or electronic service).

Where can I find more detailed information?

The Commission's Data Protection Officer (DPO) publishes the register of all personal data processing operations carried out by the Commission that have been documented and notified to it.

You can access the register via this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/about-european-commission/service-standards-and-principles/transparency/data-processing-register_es

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