Start of the Romanian presidency: the challenges ahead

The 1^st of January has been the first day of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of Ministers. For its first presidency, many challenges lay ahead of Romania in the next 6 month, starting with Brexit, the deadline of the 29^th of March and the ongoing uncertainty about a deal. What will be the impact on the flow of personal data between the EU and the UK remain to be fully comprehended. The first half of 2019 will also see the European election in May, with the many concerns arising around elections influence. Discussion about the candidate for the presidency of the European Commission are also ongoing. In May will also be the first anniversary of the implementation of the GDPR. The Romanians have yet to communicate their presidency programme, however it is clear that cyber security will be high on the agenda. On ePrivacy, with the progress made by the Austrian in the second half of 2018, it is likely that the Romanians will want to reach a position of the Council by June, despite the fact that more work is needed to find a right balance in the text.