The EU Commission is set to draft a short list with possible nominees to replace Wojciech Wiewiórowski
ADVERTISEMENTHielke Hijmans, a Dutchman working for the Belgian Data Protection Authority, has told Euronews he's in the running to become the next European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS).
“I can confirm that I am a candidate,” Hijmans said, adding that up to this point his and the names of other candidates have been kept under wraps.
Hijmans, Chairman of the Litigation chamber and member of the Board of Directors of the Belgian DPA since 2019, is a candidate on behalf of the Netherlands to replace Wojciech Wiewiórowski – whose current mandate ends in early December.
Poland's Wiewiórowski has led the EPDS - the privacy watchdog of the EU institutions - for the past five years, and is also seeking re-election for a further term, according to source familiar with the process.
He was elected in 2019 following a ballot in which he beat Yann Padova from France and Endre Szabó from Hungary.
The European Commission runs the recruitment process, pre-selecting three to five candidates after an assessment, who are then heard by the European Parliament and the EU member states before they select their top choice.
A spokesperson for the Commission told Euronews that the “selection procedure for EDPS follows the Commission-wide rules for the selection of senior officials.”
“The procedure includes several stages, including the establishment of a shortlist. The post-application phase has now started. It is not possible to provide a timeline for its completion,” the Commission added.
The EDPS’s powers might not seem as far-reaching as those of national privacy watchdogs that fine Google, Meta and the likes, but it can hold the Commission and Parliament accountable for privacy compliance.
For example, in March it found that the Commission’s use of Microsoft products was not in line with data protection rules.
In addition, the EDPS drafts opinions and advises EU institutions and bodies on privacy related policies and legislation.
Francois Pellegrini, a former commissioner at the French data protection authority CNIL, is another whose name has been cited as a potential for the job. He recently quit his role after ten years with the regulator and continues to teach at Bordeaux University.
