On October 25, 2013, the European Council concluded that the new Data Protection Framework should be adopted in a timely manner in order to strengthen consumer and business trust in Europe’s digital economy. The Council did, however, refuse to commit to adoption by early next year.

This conclusion follows on the heels of the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee vote setting out its position on a compromise text of the draft Regulation on October 21, 2013. After some 18 months of intense discussions and lobbying, the compromise text was passed by the LIBE Committee with a 49-3 majority. The compromise text was heavily influenced by the revelations of the surveillance activities of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA).