Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Article 44 Cooperation between the EDPS and national supervisory authorities

1. The EDPS shall act in close cooperation with the national supervisory authorities on issues requiring national involvement, in particular if the EDPS or a national supervisory authority finds major discrepancies between the practices of Member States or potentially unlawful transfers in the use of Europol's channels for exchanges of information, or in the context of questions raised by one or more national supervisory authorities on the implementation and interpretation of this Regulation.

2. The EDPS shall use the expertise and experience of the national supervisory authorities in carrying out his or her duties as set out in Article 43(2). In carrying out joint inspections together with the EDPS, members and staff of national supervisory authorities shall, taking due account of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, have powers equivalent to those laid down in Article 43(4) and be bound by an obligation equivalent to that laid down in Article 43(6). The EDPS and the national supervisory authorities shall, each acting within the scope of their respective competences, exchange relevant information and assist each other in carrying out audits and inspections.

3. The EDPS shall keep national supervisory authorities fully informed of all issues directly affecting or otherwise relevant to them. Upon the request of one or more national supervisory authorities, the EDPS shall inform them of specific issues.

4. In cases relating to data originating from one or more Member States, including the cases referred to in Article 47(2), the EDPS shall consult the national supervisory authorities concerned. The EDPS shall not decide on further action to be taken before those national supervisory authorities have informed the EDPS of their position, within a deadline specified by him or her which shall not be shorter than one month and not longer than three months. The EDPS shall take the utmost account of the respective positions of the national supervisory authorities concerned. In cases where the EDPS intends not to follow the position of a national supervisory authority, he or she shall inform that authority, provide a justification and submit the matter for discussion to the Cooperation Board established by Article 45(1).

In cases which the EDPS considers to be extremely urgent, he or she may decide to take immediate action. In such cases, the EDPS shall immediately inform the national supervisory authorities concerned and justify the urgent nature of the situation as well as the action he or she has taken.