Legal journal: Legislative Compass - January 2024

January 2024 brought a series of new legislative changes that can have a significant impact on you and your business. At Law firm SEMANČÍN & PARTNERS we monitor all changes for you, which is why we bring you an overview of the most important news in today's Legislative Compass.

1. A new Ministry of Tourism and Sports was established
2. Changes to the authorisation procedure in the field of security and defence industry
3. Privacy News

Establishment of a new Ministry of Tourism and Sport

Ministry of Tourism and Sport of the Slovak Republic was established in January after the approval of an amendment to the Competence Act. The ministry should strengthen and streamline the use of public resources and potential in tourism, its task should also be to support and develop spa tourism and the development of cycling tourism. Support for tourism is closely linked to the development of Slovakia's regions, it should contribute to levelling out differences between them. The ministry will also promote congress tourism as another important source of revenue for the state and cities.

The new ministry will take over competences in the field of tourism from the Ministry of Transport of the Slovak Republic and in the field of sport from the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic. The ministry will work at a budget level of EUR 250 million. The expected number of employees was up to 250 employees, who will transfer from the ministries of transport and education together with competencies in these sectors. The ministry will also be responsible for the support and promotion of tourism Slovakia Travel and the national lottery company Tipos, which has so far operated within the Ministry of Finance.

Dušan Keketi, who assumed the post of minister from his previous position as director and chairman of the board of directors of Bratislava M. R. Štefánik Airport, became the new minister. Ján Krišanda and Marek Harbuľák were appointed State Secretaries of the Ministry of Tourism and Sport of the Slovak Republic. In the past, Ján Krišanda held the post of State Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic, Marek Harbuľák worked in managerial positions in the hotel industry and was also the President of the Association of Hotels and Restaurants of Slovakia and the Chairman of the Tourism Association.

Changes to authorisations and licences in trade in defence products

The amendment to the Competence Act also amended three pieces of legislation in the field of security and defence industry, namely the Defence Products Trade Act, the Dual-Use Items Act and the Act on Trade in Designated Products the possession of which is restricted from security reasons. These changes were made following the implementation of the Government's Programme Statement, in which the Government undertook to support the Slovak Security and Defence Industry in order to secure and develop domestic production capacities and to take into account their impact on the defence and security of the State and its interests when drafting legislation and measures. In the context of the international anchorage of the Slovak Republic, the Government undertook to promote and take into account, first and foremost, the security interests of the Slovak Republic, both domestically and abroad.

The fundamental change is the transfer of competence to issue a binding negative opinion from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and SIS to the Ministry of Defence in the context of statements on a permit or licence for trading or brokering activities. Only a negative opinion of the Ministry of Defence will now be binding on the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

The range of interests that the Ministry of Economy must take into account when issuing permits or licences has also been extended. It is possible to reject an application or revoke a permit or license if justified not only by Slovakia's foreign policy and security interests, but also if Slovakia's defence interests require it.

Personal data news, changes and plans in 2024

Office for Personal Data Protection of the Slovak Republic publish annually on its website the inspection plan for that year. In addition to regular inspections with an emphasis on the Schengen and European Information Systems, this year the Office will focus in particular on:

• Processing of personal data of natural persons who regularly or occasionally enter the premises of primary and secondary schools.
• Processing of personal data of natural persons using shared mobility services (bicycles and scooters).
• Processing of personal data of users of passenger cars (sale, warranty and post-warranty service inspections).
• Processing of personal data obtained within the framework of loyalty programs.
• Processing of personal data for the purpose of electronic reservation of a doctor's appointment and electronic communication with a doctor. The control will focus primarily on the compliance of the processing of personal data of data subjects in relation to the General Data Protection Regulation, which is the GDPR.

The second major novelty is the launch by the EDPB of a website audit tool that can be used to analyse whether websites comply with the law. The tool has been developed in the framework of the EDPB Expert Support Group and can be used by both legal and technical auditors of data protection authorities, as well as controllers and processors who wish to test their own websites.

The new tool allows audits to be prepared, carried out and evaluated directly in the tool by simply visiting the relevant website. It also allows auditors to import and evaluate the results of audits carried out in these tools. Finally, the tool can generate reports. The new tool is available here.

The last important event in the field of personal data is the current decisions of the European Commission. The European Commission confirmed 11 important adequacy decisions on the basis of which it determined that the countries or territories in question ensure an adequate level of protection of personal data transferred from the European Union, with the result that such transfers of data can take place without further requirements. The countries or territories for which an adequacy decision has been confirmed are: Andorra, Argentina, Canada (for commercial entities), Faeroe Islands, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Israel, Jersey, New Zealand, Switzerland and Uruguay.

Current countries that according to the decision of the European Commission guarantee an adequate level of protection of personal data are also listed on the website of the Office for Personal Data Protection. Personal data can be transferred to these countries without the need to obtain any further authorisation.

Do you need legal advice? Make an appointment for a consultation with lawyers experts from our law firm.

Follow our newsletter to stay up to date with the latest updates.