DATA PROTECTION : REGULATION WILL NOT STIFLE INNOVATION, ASSURES KROES.

The European Commission's draft regulation on data protection, aimed at strengthening EU rules, will not stifle digital innovation, assured Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes at a conference on cloud computing, entitled Fuelling the European economy', at the Microsoft Executive Briefing Centre in Brussels, on 30 January. "I think we have succeeded. Our proposal balances protection with efficiency: safeguarding Europeans' rights without putting the development of valuable new products and services off limits," said the commissioner.

The regulation, presented on 26 January, is designed to assure the free movement of personal data within the EU while guaranteeing their effective protection in the digital environment. To achieve this aim, the Commission proposes to intensify harmonisation of national data protection legislations.

A large majority of...