The President of the Personal Data Protection Office at the 34th Spring Conference of Data Protection Authorities

On May 5-8, the 34th European Conference of Data Protection Authorities – Spring Conference 2026. The Spring Conference of Data Protection Authorities is an international initiative carried out annually since 1991, bringing together all data protection authorities from European countries, both from the European Economic Area and beyond.

The event was attended by the President of the Personal Data Protection Office Mirosław Wróblewski together with the Director of the International Cooperation Department Maria Owczarek and the Director of the Social Projects and Sustainable Development Department Anna Grzelak.

During the Spring Conference 2026, the President of the Personal Data Protection Office met with the Chairman of the Turkish Data Protection Authority KVKK, Prof. Dr. Faruk Bilir. The discussions focused on current challenges and perspectives for data protection authorities; also highlighted the importance of international cooperation, including through platforms such as the Spring Conference.

During the conference, the Chair of the European Data Protection Board, Anu Talus, gave a speech on the ongoing reform of the GDPR (Omnibus) and the simplification of its provisions, the protection of children in the digital environment, and the challenges and opportunities related to artificial intelligence. During the two-day sessions, participants also discussed privacy in the era of artificial intelligence, the protection of personal data of minors, the practical application of Directive 2016/680 on law enforcement ("LED Directive"), cross-border data transfers – standards, safeguards and compliance mechanisms – and the future of data protection authorities.

The Spring Conference also adopted a resolution on the establishment of a working group on cooperation to promote high European standards of data protection, including those enshrined in the legal acts of the Council of Europe, in particular the European Convention on Human Rights and Convention No. 108 for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data. The main objective of the subgroup will be to support the Conference through functional and operational activities aimed at increasing its impact and thus promoting international cooperation and practical solutions to emerging challenges.

Each year, a different member of this initiative is responsible for the preparation of the Spring Conference. The meeting is also attended by representatives of international organisations, academia and civil society organisations (more information on the Spring Conference and its mission is available at: https://www.dpaspringconference.org/). In 2027, the Spring Conference will be organised by Kosovo's Data Protection Authority.