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COMMISSION DECISION

of 28 April 2004

on the adequate protection of personal data in the Isle of Man

(notified under document number C(2004) 1556)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2004/411/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

having regard to Directive 9 5/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (1), and in particular Article 25(6) thereof,

After consulting the Working Party on the Protection of Individuals with regard to the processing of Personal Data (2),

whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

For the purposes of Article 25(2) of Directive 95/46/EC, the Isle of Man is considered as providing an adequate level of protection for personal data transferred from the Community.

Article 2

This Decision concerns the adequacy of protection provided in the Isle of Man with a view to meeting the requirements of Article 25(1) of Directive 95/46/EC and does not affect other conditions or restrictions implementing other provisions of that Directive that pertain to the processing of personal data within the Member States.

Article 3

1.   Without prejudice to their powers to take action to ensure compliance with national provisions adopted pursuant to provisions other than Article 25 of Directive 95/46/EC, the competent authorities in Member States may exercise their existing powers to suspend data flows to a recipient in the Isle of Man in order to protect individuals with regard to the processing of their personal data in the following cases:

2.   The suspension shall cease as soon as the standards of protection are assured and the competent authority of the Member States concerned is notified thereof.

Article 4

1.   Member States shall inform the Commission without delay when measures, are adopted on the basis of Article 3.

2.   The Member States and the Commission shall inform each other of cases where the action of bodies responsible for ensuring compliance with the standards of protection in the Isle of Man fails to secure such compliance.

3.   If the information collected under Article 3 and under paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article provides evidence that any body responsible for ensuring compliance with the standards of protection in the Isle of Man is not effectively fulfilling its role, the Commission shall inform the competent Isle of Man authority and, if necessary, present draft measures in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 31 (2) of Directive 95/46/EC with a view to repealing or suspending this Decision or limiting its scope.

Article 5

The Commission shall monitor the functioning of this Decision and report any pertinent findings to the Committee established under Article 31 of Directive 95/46/EC, including any evidence that could affect the finding in Article 1 of this Decision that protection in the Isle of Man is adequate within the meaning of Article 25 of Directive 95/46/EC and any evidence that this Decision is being implemented in a discriminatory way.

Article 6

Member States shall take all the measures necessary to comply with the Decision within four months of the date of its notification.

Article 7

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 28 April 2004.

For the Commission

Frederik BOLKESTEIN

Member of the Commission

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(1)OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31

(2)  Opinion 6/2003 on the level of protection of personal data in the Isle of Man, adopted by the Working Party on 21 November 2003, available at http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/privacy/workingroup/wp 2003/wpdocs03_en.htm

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