DIGITAL SINGLE MARKET AND EU DATA PROTECTION REFORM WITH REGARD TO THE PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA AS THE CHALLENGE OF THE MODERN WORLD

Differences in the level of protection of personal rights, in particular the right to the protection of personal data, with regard to the processing of personal data in the Member States, may prevent the free flow of personal data throughout the Union. On 15 December 2015, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission reached the agreement on the new data protection rules, establishing a modern and harmonised data protection framework across the EU. The European Parliament's Civil Liberties committee and the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) of the Council then approved the agreements and the agreements were also welcomed by the European Council of 17-18 December as a major step forward in the implementation of the Digital Single Market Strategy. On 8 April 2016 the Council adopted the Regulation and the Directive and on 14 April 2016 the Regulation and the Directive were adopted by the European Parliament. On 27th April 2016 European Parliament has brought the new regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European parliament and of the Council on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) and Directive (EU) 2016/680 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by competent authorities for the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties, and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Council Framework Decision 2008/977/JHA. In this paper, the author will present the new EU data regulation reform, with regard to the development of informatin technologies and digital single market, processing and protection of personal data and on the free movement of such data on digital single market as well the legal challenges of modern world to the pursuit of economic activities in the field of ICT support to business acitivites, with regulation overview in the Republic of Croatia and in the EU as well, potentials of effect on distortation of competition and impeding the authorities in the discharge of their responsibilities under Union law.