Data Protection Notice

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PROCESSING OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA?

The Your Europe, Your Say! event (YEYS) is organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), which is the data controller in charge of the processing of your personal data.

The service responsible for processing your personal data on behalf of the controller is:

Visits and Publications Unit

Directorate D - Communication and Interinstitutional Relations

European Economic and Social Committee - Rue Belliard/Belliardstraat 99 - 1040 Brussels

youreurope@eesc.europa.eu

The VIP unit will manage the organisation of Your Europe, Your Say! using applications called Dynamics or EU Survey. Where the application is used, the data of applicants and/or participants are included in the Dynamics database. For more information about data protection and Dynamics, please also read this data protection notice. For more information about data protection and EU Survey, please also read this data protection notice.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE PROCESSING IN THE APPLICATIONS PROCEDURE?

Personal data will be processed in order to assess applications to participate in YEYS 2026 and to:

• verify that applicants fulfil the eligibility criteria;
• communicate to applicants if an application was successful or not and
• if successful, to provide those candidates information about next steps.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSES OF THE PROCESSING THEREAFTER?

For successful applicants, personal data will be processed in order to facilitate their participation in YEYS 2026 to:

• register them for the event;
• make travel and accommodation arrangements i.e. travel bookings and hotel reservations;
• include participants in the random draw for Civil Society Week, (subject to their agreement, as requested in their registration form);
• fulfil the communication objectives of the event (subject to their consent);
• share their name, surname and email address with the other participants (subject to their consent);
• send invitations to future YEYS events that the EESC may organise (subject to their consent).

WHAT IS THE LEGAL BASIS FOR THE PROCESSING?

Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 applies to the processing of personal data collected for the organisation and management of this event. The legal basis for the processing of personal data is Article 5(a) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, as the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in a 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.

WHAT PERSONAL DATA WILL BE PROCESSED?

1. The following personal data will be processed in the applications procedure:

• contact details including title, first name, last name, gender, address, nationality, email, phone number, name of organisation;

2. The following personal and other data will be processed in the registration of participants:

• contact details including title, first name, last name, gender, ID/passport number, address, nationality, email, phone number, name of organisation, special requirements, allergies, dietary restrictions, disabilities, details of the person to be contacted in case of emergency including phone and email address, consent to be photographed, filmed or recorded, consent to be contacted for follow-up or about the next event;
• Data collected for financial reasons where participants have special travel and accommodation requests not supported by the EESC but they will personally pay for;
• Data collected for accreditation purposes to access the EESC premises for the event, according to the requirements established by the Security service: name, surname, passport or ID number, date of birth, nationality. For additional information, please refer to the accreditation privacy statement;
• Data collected for communication and publicity purposes: pictures and/or audio and video recordings of speakers and participants, quotes associated with names, live streaming. They could be published in the context of the event and the preparations for it (i.e. YouTube video, publications) and in connection with the EESC's communication activities, and published on its intranet, the internet and social media (i.e. Facebook and Instagram). Recordings (all sound, audio-visual and live recordings) are made in accordance with EESC Decision 206/17A: Rules on the recording of activities undertaken by the European Economic and Social Committee.

3. Participants consent is required for:

• photographs, audio and video recordings and web streaming related to the event;
• participant list with their name, surname and email address which will be shared with all participants;
• invitations to future YEYS events that the EESC may organise;
• participants can give their consent via the event registration form or via the documents provided by mail;
• when registering for the YEYS event, certain categories of personal data must be filled in. If those categories of data are not filled in, participants will not be able to register for the event.

WHO ARE THE RECIPIENTS OR CATEGORIES OF RECIPIENTS OF THIS PERSONAL DATA?

The recipient of the data will be the EESC staff in charge of the organisation, management and follow-up of this event.

The EESC may share the information of successful applicants with service providers for the purposes of organising the conference and associated events. Any and all service providers selected for the organisation of YEYS 2025 are contractually bound to process personal data on our behalf, keep confidential any data they handle and protect it from unauthorised access, use and retention.

The EESC will never share personal data for direct marketing purposes.

Photographs and/or audio and video recordings of participants will be taken during the event. Recordings (audio-visual and photographs) will be used partially for communication and reporting purposes afterwards. Web-streaming will take place during the event. Slight editing to audio-visual material collected might also take place (e.g. brightness and/or contrast adjustment).

The EESC is not responsible for any recordings made in a personal capacity during the event.

Photographs/images may be used in EESC publications and/or published on the intranet, the event website and relevant social networks, accompanied by text, name, quotes, photographs and/or video recordings of the event.

Photographs of participants might also be taken during preparations for the event and might also be used in EESC publications and/or published on the intranet, the event website and relevant social networks, accompanied by text, name and quotes.

A video of the event may be published on the website http://www.youtube.com/user/EurEcoSocCommittee

We use social media to provide information about and promote the YEYS event through widely-used channels: Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. The use of social media does not in any way imply endorsement of their privacy policies. In the event that one or more social media are unavailable, we accept no responsibility for lack of service due to their downtime. We recommend that users read the Facebook, Instagram and YouTube privacy policies. Each company explains its policy of data collection and processing, its use of data, user rights and the ways in which users can protect their privacy when using these services.

HOW LONG IS THE PERSONAL DATA KEPT FOR?

The data and personal data provided in the application form are kept for as long as follow-up actions to the event are necessary with regard to the purpose(s) of the processing of personal data.

Personal data from the application forms will be deleted from EESC databases two years after the event.

Personal data from the registration of participants, including financial information, will be deleted from EESC databases five years after the event.

HOW CAN YOU EXERCISE YOUR RIGHTS?

You have the right to request access to your personal data. You also have the right to request rectification or erasure or restriction of the processing of your personal data.

You also have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. Please note that withdrawal of consent will not be retroactive; processing of your personal data based on your consent before withdrawal is lawful up to the moment when you withdraw your consent.

Where applicable, you have the right to object to the processing of your data. Where applicable, you have the right to receive your personal data provided to the controller or to have your personal data transmitted directly to another controller (data portability).

You can direct your queries to youreurope@eesc.europa.eu The query will be dealt with within 15 working days.

THE DATA PROTECTION OFFICER AT THE EESC

If you have comments, questions or concerns, or if you would like to submit a complaint regarding the collection and use of your personal data, please contact the Data Protection Officer at the EESC with regard to issues related to the processing of your personal data under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 using the contact form

THE EUROPEAN DATA PROTECTION SUPERVISOR

You have the right to lodge a complaint with the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) if you consider that your rights under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 have been infringed as a result of the processing of your personal data. Please contact the EDPS using the contact form.