EDPB Charts Next Phase of GDPR Oversight With Focus on Clarity, Consistency & Cross-Regulatory Coordination

Key Takeaways

• GDPR Clarity Remains a Priority: The EDPB will issue new guidelines on Consent or Pay models, anonymization, pseudonymization and children’s data, alongside practical tools such as templates and checklists to ease compliance.
• Enforcement Consistency Tightens: The Board aims to strengthen cooperation among national data protection authorities and ensure the smooth functioning of the GDPR consistency mechanism.
• AI and Cross-Regulatory Alignment in Focus: New guidance is planned on generative AI, data scraping, political advertising and the interplay between the AI Act and the GDPR.
• Legislative Advisory Role Continues: The EDPB will advise EU lawmakers, including through joint opinions with the European Data Protection Supervisor in response to Commission requests.

Deep Dive

The European Data Protection Board has set out how it intends to navigate the next phase of Europe’s digital rulebook, adopting its 2026–2027 work program to make GDPR compliance easier to understand, ensure enforcement is more consistent across borders and strengthen cooperation in an increasingly crowded regulatory landscape.

Adopted at the Board’s 12 February plenary in Brussels, the program is the second designed to implement the EDPB Strategy 2024–2027. It also reflects the commitments made in the Helsinki Statement, where EU data protection authorities pledged greater clarity, more practical support and stronger engagement to reduce friction around GDPR compliance.

For organizations operating across the EU, the program signals continuity but also sharper focus.

Guidance, Tools and Practical Support

At the heart of the agenda is a continued push to provide timely and clear guidance on key aspects of EU data protection law. The Board is working on guidelines covering Consent or Pay models, anonymization, pseudonymization and children’s data, areas that have generated both regulatory scrutiny and operational uncertainty.

Beyond formal opinions, the EDPB plans to broaden its outreach with tools aimed at non-experts. Templates, illustrative examples, checklists, FAQs and practical “how-to” guides are all on the table. The goal is not simply to interpret the GDPR but to make it more workable in day-to-day practice for controllers and processors.

The Board also reaffirmed its role in advising EU lawmakers on personal data protection issues. This includes providing input on legislative proposals, often in joint opinions with the European Data Protection Supervisor, particularly in response to requests from the European Commission.

A Stronger Enforcement Culture Across Europe

If guidance is one side of the equation, enforcement is the other. The EDPB says it will continue strengthening cooperation among national data protection authorities and promoting greater consistency across the bloc.

“We will continue working together to ensure greater consistency across Europe and to strengthen cooperation among Data Protection Authorities. The commitments we made last year in our Helsinki statement will be our compass going forward. We will also embrace the opportunities that come with the recently adopted Regulation on GDPR procedural rules,” said EDPB Chair Anu Talus.

In practical terms, that means the Board will maintain its role as a forum for exchanging information on ongoing cases, expertise and best practices. It will also continue supporting enforcement and cooperation tools and focus on ensuring the smooth functioning of the GDPR’s consistency mechanism, a cornerstone of cross-border case handling.

Even the plumbing of cooperation is under review. The Board’s IT systems and tools will be evaluated and enhanced to support more effective coordination among authorities.

Data Protection in a More Complex Digital Landscape

The program acknowledges that data protection no longer operates in isolation. With the EU’s digital rulebook expanding, the EDPB is positioning itself firmly within a broader cross-regulatory environment.

A human-centric approach to emerging technologies remains a priority. The Board plans to adopt guidelines on generative AI and data scraping, two areas that sit at the intersection of innovation and fundamental rights.

It will also continue engaging proactively with other regulators and bodies, including participation in the Digital Markets Act High Level Group, the European Board for Digital Services and the European Data Innovation Board.

Further guidance is expected on politically sensitive and technically complex areas, including joint guidelines on the interplay between the AI Act and the GDPR, as well as guidelines on political advertising. The aim is to establish common positions that preserve coherent and consistent safeguards for personal data across overlapping regimes.

Keeping the Global Conversation Alive

Finally, the EDPB reiterated its commitment to the international dimension of data protection. The Board intends to promote global dialogue on privacy and strengthen enforcement cooperation not only among EU authorities but also with regulators in third countries.

Close cooperation with data protection authorities in jurisdictions benefiting from EU adequacy decisions will continue. The Board will also advance work on GDPR and Law Enforcement Directive transfer mechanisms and provide further guidance on their practical implementation.

The work program does not rewrite the GDPR playbook. Instead, it doubles down on clarity, cooperation and coherence at a moment when digital regulation is multiplying and intersecting. More guidance is coming, enforcement coordination is tightening and data protection remains central to the EU’s evolving digital framework.

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