The Albanian governments possible plan to publish the salary of every citizen on an annual basis could find itself up against a legal hurdle, particularly if it wants to join the European Union.
Prime Minister Edi Rama said he would ask the public whether the government should regularly publish the salaries of both citizens and residents. He claims that following the leak of people’s salaries in 2021, it have a positive impact and saw salaries rise.
Albanian Government Plans to Publish Payrolls Annually After ‘Positive Effects’ of Illegal Leak
Responding to questions sent by Exit, the European Commission was clear that personal data protection is a fundamental right in the EU. It noted that the EU General Data Protection Regulation has strengthened data protection safeguards and provides individuals with stronger rights, increased transparency, and makes data handlers more responsible.
“The EU recalls that Albania has committed to adopt a revised law on personal data protection aligning with EU acquis including the GDPR in the course of 2022,” the Commissions’ response noted.
They continued that under GDPR, any draft rules or legislation that foresees personal data processing and affects the right to privacy should undergo first an assessment of their necessity and fitness to the declared objectives, and proportionality, with due attention to alternative options. The data protection authority must be closely involved in such an assessment.
In other words, the government cannot simply start publishing people’s personal data based on the response of a national consultation.
Debate Flares over Potential Publication of Albanian Citizen and Resident Salaries
Albania is an EU candidate country and while the accession process is somewhat stalled, it is expected to align national law with the EU acquis.
