Two years after the EU launched its landmark GDPR data rights charter, there are signs Ireland is faltering in its outsized role as regulator of many of the most powerful digital giants.

Hailed as a potent weapon to bring tech titans to heel, the General Data Protection Regulation endowed national watchdogs with cross-border powers and the possibility to impose sizeable fines for data misuse.

Ireland hosts the regional headquarters of Facebook, Apple, Google and Twitter, and is therefore largely responsible for policing their European activities.

But its Data Protection Commission has yet to issue a major decision against any of the giants in Dublin’s glimmering “Silicon Docks”.

“It’s a blessing for Ireland economically to be the seat of these big digital companies for Europe, and that brings a lot of revenue,” one EU Commission official with deep knowledge of the area told AFP.

“With this, of course, comes an obligation. With the role as a lead regulator it has a duty to the citizens all over Europe.

“The patience of the other authorities will fade if Ireland doesn’t get its act together. It’s as simple as that.”

• ‘Tax haven’ –

Government and business leaders are coy but it is generally understood that multinational tech companies chose Ireland because of its low 12.5 percent corporate tax rate.

In 2018, Facebook Ireland generated 25.5 billion euros ($29 billion) in revenue and paid 63.2 million euros ($73.8 million) in tax, according to the Companies Registration Office.

Meanwhile the government coffers of Ireland — a nation of just five million people — are regularly padded with receipts from multinationals.

Last year, 77 percent of Irish corporation tax receipts came from foreign multinationals and 40 percent were from just 10 companies.

Tax Justice Network chief executive Alex Cobham said his campaign group generally avoids the term “tax haven” because “every jurisdiction has a lot of work to do to improve”.

“With that caveat, yes, Ireland is a tax haven,” he said.

“Ireland is probably the most exposed to a small number of fairly similar US multinationals in pharma and in tech and it really can’t afford to cross them.”

• ‘Regulatory austerity’ –

GDPR stipulates that data protection commissions should be separate from outside interference and there is no suggestion of government influence in the Irish process.

But little of the tax bonanza from tech companies is funnelled into Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, which acts as the EU’s regulator for firms like Facebook and their services such as Whatsapp and Instagram.

GDPR requires that countries ensure their data protection commission has the “human, technical and financial resources… necessary for the effective performance of its tasks and exercise of its powers”.

Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner, Helen Dixon, said the organisation was “disappointed” by the 2020 government allocation of 16.9 million euros ($19.7 million).

Additional funding was “less than one third” of the figure requested which “reflected a year of experience of regulating under the GDPR”, she added.

For Cobham, this suggests “regulatory austerity”, where high regulatory standards are set “but then you refuse to provide the resources to allow any type of effective enforcement”.

“You achieve the effect of not having the regulations while being able to say, ‘but look, we have the regulation’, he added.

Ireland’s 2021 budget raised DPC funding to 19.1 million euros ($22.3 million) — the same amount Facebook Ireland generated in revenue in about six and a half hours in 2018.

A government spokesman insisted the DPC “has received ongoing and positive funding support which has more than met its actual resourcing requirements”.

DPC Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle added the “considerable” increases in government funding had allowed it to go from 29 staff in 2014 to 150.

But the EU Commission insider said: “It’s a good step forward but more is necessary.”

• The first case –

The DPC’s first major decision is expected against Twitter in November, making it the first European authority to complete a cross-border case against a tech giant under GDPR.

It is a relatively straightforward test of whether Twitter informed the data protection authority of a breach within 72 hours and properly documented the event.

Nonetheless, the investigation was started in January last year and the DPC made a draft decision in May.

The case has since been tied up in regulatory mechanisms seeking input and consensus from data watchdogs in other EU states.

The drawn-out process is a reminder that the complexities of pan-European regulation still sprawl across the bloc.

But under the stiff GDPR regime Twitter could be fined up to four percent of its annual global turnover — a $140 million wedge of the firm’s reported $3.5 billion 2019 revenue.

If Ireland’s DPC becomes the first watchdog to impose such a stinging penalty accusations its bark is worse than its bite may begin to fade.

(Last Updated On: October 31, 2020)Four key recommendations were presented to the European Parliament in a meeting with Afghan civil society members under the umbrella of Afghanistan Mechanism for Inclusive Peace (AMIP) this week.

In its role as a “transfer mechanism for the peace talks”, AMIP facilitated the meeting that was aimed at highlighting the role of civil society in the Afghan peace process and called on the European Union and its member states to encourage the parties to the conflict to “immediately implement a comprehensive, nationwide and unconditional ceasefire.”

AMIP also asked the EU to call on all regional actors to “support a ceasefire agreement unequivocally, and to refrain from interference in the Afghan conflict.”

“We ask the European Union and its member states to continue their commitment and active support to an inclusive, Afghan peace process, that preserves and builds on the political, economic and social accomplishments of the citizens of Afghanistan. 

“All Afghans have suffered from the consequences of conflict, and deserve to live in a peaceful and prosperous country.

AMIP also called on the EU to “continue their commitment and support of Afghan civil society and especially that of women groups, and their participation in all processes that lead to stability and peace in Afghanistan.”

Their fourth recommendation was on the EU’s support in a post-war scenario. 

“We are grateful for the European Union’s consistent support to Afghanistan, and urge the EU and its member states to maintain its support for stability and development in the post-peace phase.”

In a tweet after the meeting, the Head of EU Delegation in Kabul ambassador Andreas von Brandt said he stated at the meeting that there was a “need to bring all Afghan voices to the negotiating table but also seek societal consensus for compromise.”

The discussion was held between the Chair of the EU Parliament Delegation for relations with Afghanistan Petras Austrevicus; the Head of EU Delegation in Kabul ambassador Andreas von Brandt; and Afghan civil society members. Also attending the meeting was representatives from the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, Afghanistan Justice Organization, Afghanistan Policy Group and the Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organizations.

On Saturday, Charles Michel wrote in a tweet that freedom of conscience in Europe must be respected. 

“We condemn this new heinous act in Lyon. All our thoughts for the priest who is between life and death. In Europe freedom of conscience is guaranteed for all and must be respected, violence is intolerable and condemnable,” Charles Michel wrote on Twitter.

​David Sassoli issued a similar statement via Twitter, stressing that Europe will stand firm against violence and terrorism.

“We are shocked and saddened by another brutal attack in Lyon. All our thoughts are with the victim who is fighting for his life. Europe will never bow to violence and terrorism. We will always defend freedom of conscience,” Sassoli said.

​The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Saturday condemning the Lyon attack and wishing a swift recovery to the victim. According to the statement, Turkey has been fighting against various forms of terrorism for years and stands in solidarity with the French people and the Orthodox community in France.

On Saturday, an attacker armed with a hunting rifle with a sawed-off barrel wounded a Greek Orthodox priest in Lyon and then fled the scene of the shooting.

The priest, identified as 52-year-old Nikolaos Kakavelaki, was shot in the 7th district of Lyon near a Greek church on Saturday afternoon. He is now in serious condition at the hospital, according to France 24.

Lyon Mayor Gregory Doucet told reporters on Saturday that the motives behind the attack remain unknown. Lyon public prosecutor’s office said it had opened an investigation for attempted murder.

Lyon’s public prosecutor, Nicolas Jacquet, announced late on Saturday that a suspect had been arrested as part of the investigation into the attack.
On Thursday, a 21-year-old man from Tunisia killed three people in a knife attack in the Notre-Dame de Nice Basilica. The French government has designated it a terrorist attack.

The Lyon and Nice attacks occurred as France is experiencing national unease in the wake of an increasing Islamic threat following the brutal murder of French history teacher Samuel Paty by a radicalized teenager in mid-October.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on Turkish citizens to boycott French goods amid bilateral tensions over French President Emmanuel Macron’s statements against radical Islam.

On October 21, Macron delivered a speech during a commemoration ceremony for Samuel Paty. The president urged to “free Islam in France from the foreign influence and strengthen control on the mosques’ funding,” and stressed that France would continue to defend freedom of expression and step up its battle against radical Islam.

In response to these comments from Macron, Erdogan said that the French president disrespected millions of French Muslim citizens and “needed mental treatment.” He added that the “manifestation of hostility to Islam means hostility to Turkey.”

Macron said later on Twitter that “we will not give in, ever,” adding, nonetheless, that France respected “all differences in a spirit of peace” but hate speech was unacceptable.

Turkey has been joined by other Muslim countries in condemnation of Macron’s recent comments on radical Islam.