Data Protection Notice

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Processing of personal data related to the EESC Civil Society Prize

  1. Introduction 

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is committed to respecting and protecting your personal data in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 (EUDPR).  

Your personal data may be collected and processed for the EESC Civil Society Prize contest (application, evaluation, award, promotion). 

  1. Who is responsible for the processing of personal data? 

The EESC is responsible (as controller) for the processing of personal data. The responsible service (delegated controller) is Directorate for Communication and Interinstitutional Relations rue Belliard 99, 1040 Brussels (email: civilsocietyprize@eesc.europa.eu). 

  1. What is the purpose of the processing? 

Your personal data are collected and further processed for the purpose of

  • Evaluating the applications, awarding the prize and transferring the prize money to the winning organisations;

  • Promoting the EESC Civil Society Prize incl. the projects and the award ceremony;

  • Participating in the award ceremony;

  • Sending information concerning the EESC (only if you express your consent in the application form).

  1. What is the legal basis for the processing? 

The legal basis for the processing of personal data is Article 5.1.a of the EUDPR, according to which "processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the Union institution or body". The EESC exercises its tasks as set out in Articles 300-304 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. 

The processing of certain categories of your personal data as described in this data protection notice will be carried out based on your consent (Article 5.1.d of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725).

  1. What personal data are processed? 

The following personal data will be processed to evaluate the applications, inform you about the result of the evaluation and promote the projects:

  • Contact details of the organisation and of a contact person: name of the organisation, name and surname of the contact person, e-mail address, telephone number, postal address, country of residence, internet address, social media accounts;

  • Declaration on honour that the candidates are not in one of the exclusion situations referred to in the Financial Regulation;

  • Indication about the resources used for the project proposed for the prize.

In specific cases, candidates will also be requested to provide to the EESC the following data:

  • Data and supporting documents related to the exclusion and eligibility criteria (depending on the legal status of the applicants: VAT number, organisation registration number, copy of the relevant parts of the founding statutes, certificates for social security contributions and taxes paid, judicial record/ certificate of good conduct, copy of the ID card or passport etc.);

  • Information necessary for financial purposes: information contained in the identification form Business partners – legal entities and bank accounts - European Commission and supporting documents;

  • Photos and/or audiovisual material which illustrates the project proposed for the prize and respective copyright mentions.

In addition to this, the winners' representatives who will attend the award ceremony will be requested to provide also the following data:

  • Information necessary for accreditation and/or access to the EESC premises: first name, last name, e-mail address, date of birth, ID card / passport, contact mobile number, details concerning special assistance needed (if any); 

  • Data collected for travel arrangements and accommodation (if applicable): first name, last name, country, ID card / passport, contact mobile number, e-mail, arrival/departure place/date/time;

  • Data collected for communication purposes: first name, last name, function, social media account and short bio of the person who will take the floor at the award ceremony. 

Your consent is required for: 

  • Receiving information about the EESC works and/or about future prizes and/or about issues related to the theme of the prize;
  • Taking photographs, audio and video recordings of you during the award ceremony; webstreaming your speech;
  • Using event photos, audio recordings and videos captured by our official photographers and videographers, which may feature you, for promotional purposes, including on our website, social media, and other marketing materials;
  • Using the photos and audiovisual material you provided for promotional purposes and to produce a video which presents the project. 

You can provide your consent via the application form.

  1. How will we process your personal data?

    We will only collect and process the personal data that is necessary for the purposes outlined above. We will store your personal data securely and protect it against unauthorised access, loss, or damage. We will only share your personal data on a need-to-know basis with our partner organisations and third-party service providers who are necessary for the management of the prize.

  2. Who are the recipients or categories of recipients of your personal data? 

For the purpose detailed above, access to the aforementioned personal data is given or may be given to the following persons:

  • EESC staff from the Directorate for Communication and Interinstitutional Relations responsible for the management of the contest procedure will have access to all the data provided on a need-to-know basis.

  • The EESC Security and Safety Unit (secu@eesc.europa.eu) will have access to personal details related to the ID or passport numbers of the winners' representatives who will participate in the award ceremony (for further details see the Accreditation data protection notice). If the award ceremony takes place during the EESC plenary session, the Registry Unit will also have access to these data.

  • The EESC financial Verification Service will have access to personal data contained in the application forms and in the identification form Business partners – legal entities and bank accounts - European Commission (and related supporting documents).

  • The members of the evaluation committee, including outside experts and evaluators who work on behalf of the EESC for the purpose of the evaluation of entries, will have access to the data contained in the application form. Members of the evaluation committee may be based in an EU Member State, in an EEA Member State, in Switzerland or in the UK.

  • EESC contractors who work for the EESC for the purpose of the promotion of the contest will have access to data as indicated hereafter. The shared data will be used solely for communication purposes and in line with data protection rules.

    In case you are among the candidates shortlisted for the prize, access to the following personal data may be given to EESC contractors in charge of writing a text and/or producing a video on the prize and/or publicising the prize and the shortlisted candidates: personal data contained in the application form; your replies to written questions about your organisation and the shortlisted project; in case the production of a video of shortlisted candidates is externalised, EESC contractors will have access also to the photo/audiovisual material you provided to the EESC.

    In case your project is not shortlisted for the prize, the EESC contractors in charge of writing a text or producing a video on the prize and/or publicising the prize may be given access to the application form, but the name and surname of the contact person, address, phone number, e-mail address, social media accounts will be made illegible. The name of the organisation and of the project, the country and city of residence or registration, the official Internet address will remain visible. 

  • EESC contractors in charge of organising the travel and accommodation of the winners who participate in the award ceremony will have access to the data collected for travel arrangements and accommodation.

  • Members of the public. In case you are awarded a prize by the EESC, the personal data mentioned hereafter will be made public (i. a. through press releases, publications, web and/or social media) for promotional purposes and for transparency purposes in accordance with the EESC's obligation to publish information on the winners of contests financed by the budget of the European Union: name and contact details of the entity/individual implementing the initiative, project or programme for which the prize is awarded; name of the initiative, project or programme; amount of the prize awarded. Moreover, photos and videos related to the prize award and to the initiatives, projects or programmes for which the prize is awarded will also be made public. 

    For candidates who are not awarded a prize, the EESC may make public the name of the candidates (civil society organisation, company or individual), the name and content of their activities, their country of residence or registration and the URL of their official website or public profile. Any additional data of candidates who have not been awarded the prize may be made public only subject to written informed consent of the entity/individual concerned.

  • The EESC legal service and the competent courts in case of dispute.

  • Under certain conditions defined in law, your data may be disclosed to third parties charged with a monitoring, audit or inspection task (such as the European Anti-Fraud Office, the Court of Auditors or law enforcement authorities) if it is necessary and proportionate for lawful, specific purposes.

For the purpose described in point 3 above, the EESC may use AI tools. This might involve the processing of your personal data. In particular, we may use Microsoft Copilot and the AI-Based multilingual services of the European Commission (machine translation). For further information, please refer to the data protection notice concerning Copilot and the privacy policy concerning the European Commission AI-Based Multilingual Services. In case of remote or hybrid meetings (e.g. hybrid evaluation meetings), the evaluation committee may use Microsoft Teams and other Microsoft 365 tools. For further information on the processing of your personal data when using these tools, please refer to the data protection notice concerning Microsoft 365. The award ceremony will be webstreamed. 

We will never share your personal data for direct marketing purposes.

Recordings and reuse of event materials by third parties

The EESC is not responsible for recordings (such as photographs or videos) made by other participants during the award ceremony.

Please note that promotional material and the photos and videos taken during the award ceremony may be shared or reused by third parties. We are not responsible for the actions of third parties and cannot control how they use the photos and videos taken during the event without our consent. 

  1. Are your personal data transferred to a third country or international organisation? 

The application forms may be transferred to members of the evaluation committee based in EU/EEA Member States, Switzerland or the United Kingdom. All other data will not be transferred to a non-EU country. The European Commission has adopted a decision that determined that Switzerland and the United Kingdom offer an adequate level of data protection (see relevant Adequacy Decision in the following link: https://commission.europa.eu/law/law-topic/data-protection/international-dimension-data-protection/adequacy-decisions_en). 

  1. How can you exercise your rights? 

You have the right to access your personal data, to rectify any inaccurate or incomplete personal data, to restrict (under certain conditions) the processing of your personal data, to request the deletion of your personal data (if processed unlawfully) and, where applicable, the right to data portability. You have the right to object to the processing of your data on grounds relating to your particular situation, at any time. 

You also have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. Please note that withdrawal of consent will not have retroactive effect. 

You can direct your queries to civilsocietyprize@eesc.europa.eu. Your query will be dealt without undue delay and in any event within one month of receipt of the request. That period may be extended by two further months where necessary.

Please note that in some cases restrictions under Article 25 of the EUDPR may apply.

You have the right of recourse to the European Data Protection Supervisor if you consider that your rights under the EUDPR have been infringed as a result of the processing of your personal data by the EESC. 

  1. How long are your personal data kept for?

Files relating to contest procedures, including personal data, are to be retained in the service in charge of the procedure until it is finalised, and in the archives for a period of at least 5 years from the date on which the European Parliament gives discharge for the financial year to which the payment of the prize money relate (see Article 75 of the Financial Regulation). Data of unsuccessful candidates will be kept only for 5 years following the award of the prize;

Until the end of a possible audit, administrative or judicial investigation, if one of them started before the end of the above period;

After the periods mentioned above have elapsed, the procedural documents related to the awards files, cleaned of personal data, will be sent to the historical archives of the EU for further conservation. The non-sampled files are destroyed.

  1. Are the personal data collected used for automated decision-making, including profiling? 

The EESC will not use your personal data to make automated decisions about you. "Automated decisions" are defined as decisions made without human intervention. 

  1. Will your personal data be further processed for a purpose other than that for which data have been obtained? 

Your personal data will not be further processed for a different purpose. 

  1. Who can you contact if you have queries or complaints? 

If you have any further questions about the processing of your personal data, please contact  first of all the data controller, (civilsocietyprize@eesc.europa.eu).

You may also contact the EESC data protection officer by using the relevant contact form and/or the European Data Protection Supervisor by using the contact details published in its contact page at any time.