MS27 Draft report on the impact of the GDPR on research and the EOSC

SSHOC Milestone 27 refers to the preparation of a draft report on the impact of the GDPR on research and EOSC. The team has described and compared national implementations of the GDPR, with focus on some specific countries, and prepared the draft report as planned in M14 of the project. The actual draft report is attached as an Annex to this Milestone report.

The GDPR has given European countries a unique opportunity to harmonize their legal framework, and to improve the conditions for research and cross-border data flow. The rationale behind the new regulation is to ensure the same level of data protection throughout the EU in order to facilitate open access and reusability of research data. Thus, the GDPR has a limited flexibility in its application. Nevertheless, the Regulation leaves room for national supplementary provisions, including derogations, and this possibility applies especially to the field of research. This represents both risks and opportunities. The draft report that the Task 5.3 of the SSHOC project is preparing describes and compares national implementation of the GDPR with the focus on research in some specific countries: Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Germany and Italy.

The draft report has compared the national data protection legislations and analysed whether or not they are beneficial for research and archival purposes.