During the meeting in late July 2018, Sebastian Meissner, Head of the EuroPriSe Certification Authority, provided Mr. Kelber, member of the German parliament, with the following information on the status quo regarding the introduction of approved certification mechanisms:

Today, it is still not possible to even apply formally for the accreditation as a certification body pursuant to Art. 43 GDPR in Germany, and, sadly, the situation does not seem to be more advanced in other EU Member States. Two months after the GDPR became applicable, the reality regarding data protection certification in Europe is as follows: Despite a strong demand for GDPR certification by businesses throughout the EU, no approved certification mechanisms are in place and this will most probably not change in the near future, since the competent authorities are moving forward at a slow pace only. This is a great burden for established certification bodies such as EuroPriSe, who planned to offer approved GDPR certifications as of May 25, 2018, but still do not know when this will be possible.

MP Kelber showed understanding for this difficult situation and presented the prospect of supporting EuroPriSe as a company that is based in his constituency, where possible.  

More detailed information on EuroPriSe’s meeting with Mr. Kelber (in German language) is available at  https://www.2b-advice.com/GmbH-de/Nachrichten/n/10979/de-mdb-kelber-zu-besuch-bei-2b-advice.