ADATNAP

Digital Policy under the Hungarian Presidency in 2024
Kinga Sorbán, Dr.
Permanent Representation of Hungary to the European Union

Digital policy is one of the most structured and rapidly evolving of the European Union's policies. Digitalisation is transforming all aspects of life, requiring continuous adjustment of the regulatory environment. Consequently, the legislative and policy framework for digital policy is highly complex and diverse. Digitalisation and its policy development play a key role in shaping Europe's global competitiveness. It has recently become clear that the continent faces significant competitiveness challenges and is lagging behind in international economic and technological competition.
Strengthening European competitiveness was a top priority of the Hungarian Presidency in 2024, which tailored its policy work in the digital field accordingly. Given the complexity of digital policy, several Council working groups dealt with digital policy dossiers during the Presidency. The aim of this presentation is to provide an overview of the state of play of digital policy in the period leading up to the Hungarian Presidency in 2024 and to present the achievements of the Hungarian Presidency in this field.
The presentation will primarily focus on the activities of the Telecommunications and Information Society Working Group, while also covering related working groups with which there is close cooperation due to the interplay of policy issues. Although the role of the Hungarian presidency in the legislative process has been less pronounced, given the fact that previous presidencies have closed a number of dossiers in the light of the changing institutional cycle, the presidency has still achieved significant results. Significant progress has been made in the field of artificial intelligence, one of the most data-intensive sectors of our time. Furthermore, the Hungarian presidency has adopted Council conclusions on the future of telecommunications infrastructure, which is pivotal to maintaining data flows and developing the digital economy.

The European Data Strategy and the European “Data Union” Strategy: the next chapter in Europe’s data economy policy
Andrea Katalin Tóth, PhD., LL.M. 
Policy Assistant to the Director, European Commission

In the February of 2020, the Commission adopted its European Data Strategy, which enshrined the Commission’s vision to fulfil an ambitious plan: to create a European single market for data and to make Europe a dominant player in the data economy. This included the creation of a horizontal legal framework around the access and use of data, in the form of four legislative proposals (Data Governance Act, Data Act, Digital Markets Act, Implementing Act on High Value Datasets), which have been adopted and entered into force.

As part of the preparation for the new European legislative cycle and the new Commission, President von der Leyen in July 2024 announced the “European Data Union Strategy” in her political guidelines. It “will draw on existing data rules to ensure a simplified, clear and coherent legal framework for businesses and administrations to share data seamlessly and at scale, while respecting high privacy and security standards”. This raises questions about how this new strategy would be different from the previous one and which specific issues of the data economy it would aim to address that have not been covered previously. The presentation will touch on what has been already achieved and what could be expected in the next 5 years in this policy area.

Application of EU Data Governance Act in Hungary and the operation of the EDIB working party 
Vass Norbert 
Head of Department, National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, Hungary EDIB delegate

The Data Governance Act (DGA) was not adopted in a vacuum, but as part of a complex EU legislative process. The task to be addressed by the Union has been to regain and protect digital sovereignty, as in the last 20 years the majority of valuable data has typically fallen into the hands of third-country data controllers operating in a monopoly-like way. The protection of the EU economy, national security interests and of fundamental rights necessitated the creation of the digital legislative package. This includes the DGA, which regulates a part of the accessibility and utilization of data, similarly to the Data Act, the DSA or the AI Regulation. Other legislation regulates the technical background required for data (cybersecurity, cloud). 

The DGA mainly regulates access to data managed by the public sector and the functioning of data intermediation services providers (DISPs) and data altruism organisations (DAOs). In Hungary, the competent body and single information point has been the NAVÜ since 1 April 2024, while the competent supervisory authority has been the NAIH (Authority) since 1 January 2024. Within the Authority, the EU Digital Data Strategy Unit is responsible for performing the authority tasks under the DGA, as well as the supervision of data processing under the GDPR that uses new technologies (e.g. AI, blockchain) and other data protection authority tasks arising from the digital package (e.g. participation in sandboxes under the AI Regulation).

The notification of a DISP may be submitted by means of an electronic form, providing the information referred to in Article 11(6) of the DGA. The Authority shall assess the notification against the data of the commercial register and the website indicated in the application. If the notification is incomplete, the applicant shall be invited once to remedy the deficiencies. If the notification is complete, the Authority shall adopt a decision on entry to the DISP register within 7 days. The procedure will be subject to a procedural fee to be determined by ministerial decree, which is not yet available. In the absence of a specific implementing decree by the Government, the Commission shall be notified of the change in the DISP register by e-mail. The recording of the DISP in the register does not constitute a proof of conformity and requires the issuance of a separate certificate of conformity. In a separate procedure, it must be demonstrated that the DISP meets the conditions laid down in Articles 11 and 12 of the DGA, for which the procedural time limit is 150 days. Currently only one DISP is registered in Hungary, and there are few at EU level. Changing this is one of the important tasks of the current EU review of DGA. 

In contrast to DISPs, registration of DAOs is optional. It is another question whether, without this, they can comply with the principle of data protection by design and by default under Article 25 of the GDPR. Registration of the DAO can also be requested using an electronic form, where the Authority also examines compliance with the DGA, with an administrative deadline of 84 days.

The Authority may also, at the request of data subjects or data holders, or on its own initiative, examine whether a DISP or DAO registered in Hungary (or not having a main establishment in the Union but carrying out activities in Hungary under the DGA) complies with the DGA, with a procedural time limit of 150 days. In the event of non-compliance, the Authority may apply the legal consequences set out in the DGA and may also impose fines ranging from HUF 100,000 to HUF 50 million. (approx. EUR 250 to EUR 125,000)

The European Data Innovation Board (EDIB) is one of the new institutions set up by the DGA, but it also received tasks under the Data Act as well. EDIB advises the Commission in the areas of administrative practice (uniform interpretation of the law) and interoperability. Members include supervisory authorities, the EDPB, the EDPS, the Commission, the ENISA, the EU SME Envoy and other stakeholders. Currently there is only one formal subgroup, composed of authorities, which discusses legal interpretation of the DGA. The work of this sub-group is supported by shadow sub-group meetings held on two occasions before each formal sub-group meeting.

The European Data Strategy – original goals, state of play and reality in 2025 (Hungarian perspective)
Barna Gaál
International Director, Digital Hungary Agency

This presentation will focus on Hungarian implementation of the European Data Strategy, and will provide the audience with a very brief overview of how the keynote speaker sees overall EU-level implementation and the data ecosystem currently. The speech will also give an introduction to the state of play of authoritative data source value and significance, including public-private partnerships and further potential of automation, data-driven processes and public data management. eIDAS, IEA regulations and Digital Decade 2030 goals will be mentioned, too.

Participants can expect evaluation of the change and evolution in data management, data procession practices initiated by the IEA regulation (self-assessments, guidelines, supporting IT tools, sandboxes) and the introduction of European Digital Identity Wallets under the new eID framework regulation, that allows citizens and residents to manage their digital identities and further important data sets in national level and even cross-border electronic transactions more efficiently, also providing greater control over their personal data in a more secure way. The Digital Decade also promotes the use of cloud and edge computing to enhance data processing capabilities to strenghten the EU's data sovereignty, meanwhile conditions like secure and sustainable network and computing infrastructure remains an essential requirement.

After a short overview of HU strategic and legislative actions implemented, some words will be dedicated to future priorities, challanges and call to actions, too. These will touch upon the need for a Digital Decade revision, joint actions in multi-country projects and EU-level measures.

AI, Data, and Democracy: Defending Fundamental Rights in the Algorithmic Era
Friso Roscam Abbing
Senior Adviser on Strategic Communication

As digital technologies and artificial intelligence play an expanding role in decision-making, the protection of fundamental rights becomes increasingly urgent. This keynote explores how data governance, algorithmic systems, and online platforms are reshaping key areas of democratic life—from social welfare and law enforcement to freedom of expression and electoral integrity.

The address highlights key findings from FRA’s reports, including Getting the Future Right and Bias in Algorithms, showing how AI is already influencing access to services and reinforcing existing biases. The speech stresses that efficiency must not override fairness—tools that discriminate are not innovative, but flawed.
It examines the tension between freedom of expression and the need to address hate speech online, pointing to sophisticated attempts to evade content moderation. The Digital Services Act (DSA) is presented as a necessary tool for platforms to mitigate these harms, alongside the need for enforcement and transparency.

Disinformation is identified as a growing threat to democratic processes, with recent elections offering stark examples. Legal measures like the DSA and the upcoming AI Act are important steps, but must be supported by media literacy, critical thinking, and human rights education.
Ultimately, the speech calls for a digital future rooted in fundamental rights. Rights-compliant, high-quality technology is not a trade-off—it is Europe’s opportunity to lead with integrity in the global digital landscape.

Global Data Governance – Recent Developments in the United Nations
Zoltan Turbek,
UN

The current fragmentation of data governance frameworks, along with data inequalities and the unequal concentration of both data and the capacity to utilize it, underscores the need for strengthened data governance cooperation. This also calls for more interoperable frameworks, international data governance approaches/frameworks, and the effective, equitable, and meaningful participation of all countries in data governance discussions.

In this presentation, we will provide a brief overview of the most relevant UN-system initiatives to date related to data governance. We will then examine how the Global Digital Compact (GDC), adopted by UN Member States in September 2024, addresses data governance issues. In particular, we will explore the significant shifts that occurred during the GDC negotiations, culminating in Objective 4, which advocates for advancing responsible, equitable, and interoperable data governance approaches.

As agreed in the GDC, Member States requested the so-called Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) to establish a dedicated working group to engage in an inclusive, multi-stakeholder dialogue on data governance at all levels, with a focus on its relevance to development. In the presentation, we will also provide details on the establishment process of this new working group, its composition, specific mandate, timeline, and the key issues it will likely need to address.

How do the tasks of data management leadership change with the evolution of data maturity?
Gergely Babos
Expert, DAMA Hungary, Chief Data Officer, OTP Bank Plc.

Although the foundations of data management were laid in the 1960s, it became a discipline in its own right and also a crutial success factor of an organization’s digital transformation in the last decade. Organizations treated data as a pure IT responsibility for long years. The real value of data started to become obvious when organizations launched data collection components, typically data warehouses to improve their sales, or analytical activities by utilizing vast amounts of it. The responsible leaders had a strong IT background focusing on stability and transparency in the architecture. As data became more and more important, data siloes appeard that ended up into a conitnuous heavy data quaility challange.

By now, data management is an enabler of digital operations that requires strategy, awareness, continuous evangelization – in a word data culture. Data management leaders need to act differently compared to their earlier IT role. In my presentation I will talk about my journey, how my tasks have changed over the last 6 years in OTP Bank, as the bank has become one of the prominent representatives of advanced data culture in the CEE region.