Written by Haim Ravia and Dotan Hammer
The budgets of the data protection authorities in most of the member states of the European Union have increased in the last few years, some of them even surging by tens of percent, according to a new report published by the European Data Protection Board. The budgets in Germany, Italy, and Austria jumped by more than 40 percent between 2020 and 2022. In comparison, the budgets in the Czech Republic and Hungary have decreased during this period by 10% and 30%, respectively.
Expectedly, the largest economy in the European Union, Germany, provides the most generous budget to its data protection authority: about €114 million in 2022. It also employs a larger data protection workforce than any other country: over 1,100 employees. Malta, one of the EU member states with the smallest population, provides the lowest budget: less than €700,000 in 2022 available to the 14 employees of the data protection authority in the island country. Although Liechtenstein is smaller than Malta in population, its economy is much richer, and it provides about €1.2 million to its data protection authority which has only 7 employees.
A vast majority of 75% of survey respondents across the data protection authorities in the member states of the European Union felt that the budget they are given does not meet their needs and an even greater majority felt that the workforce available to them is insufficient.
Click here to read the full report of the European Data Protection Board.
