News

Commissioner Milan Marinović and Deputy Commissioner Sanja Unković participated in the Fifth Meeting of the “Privacy4Balkans” Regional Initiative, held on 28 April 2026 in Podgorica, organized by the Agency for Personal Data Protection of Montenegro. At this meeting, attended by leaders and representatives of the authorities engaged in personal data protection from Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Serbia, the main topic was the coordination of further activities regarding a joint approach towards large, primarily technological, multinational companies that have not yet fulfilled their obligation, prescribed by the laws of the aforementioned countries, to designate a personal data protection representative in our countries.

In addition to the meeting held in plenary, a series of meetings were held at the bilateral level, discussing topics as the organization and functioning of these bodies in today's era of great challenges and risks to the personal data protection caused, primarily, by the increasingly widespread use of video surveillance for the purpose of personal data processing, the expansion of biometric data processing and the comprehensive personal data processing by artificial intelligence. It was agreed that the next meeting would be held in Belgrade.

As part of the cooperation between the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection and the Standing Conference of Cities and Municipalities (SKGO), the second training on personal data protection for local self-government units was successfully carried out in Novi Sad on April 22 and 23.

The training in Novi Sad is the second of seven planned training sessions on “Personal Data Protection”, as part of the “Partnership for Good Local Government” project, supported by the Government of Switzerland, and was implemented according to the Sectoral Program for Professional Development for 2026, adopted by the Government of the Republic of Serbia.

The two-day seminar brought together 15 employees from local self-government units in the territory of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.

Accredited lecturers from the Sector for Education and Certification, Marko Milošević and Aleksandra Lakićević, guided the participants through key aspects of the Personal Data Protection Law implementation.

The lecturers focused on the practical application of the Law and personal data processing security.

The training took place in an exceptional working atmosphere and through a dynamic discussion, wherein the participants and the lecturers discussed in detail the key areas:

• The role and tasks of the Data Protection Officer.
• Precise definition of responsibilities within local self-government units.
• Lawfulness of processing: Correct recognition of the legal basis for collecting and processing citizens’ data.
• Protection measures: Implementation of technical, personnel, and organizational measures to ensure the security of personal data processing.
• Compliance with the Law: Practical steps in the process of harmonizing all internal processes with the provisions of the Personal Data Protection Law.

Through interactive lectures and case studies, the participants tested their acquired knowledge, confirming a high level of readiness for applying data protection standards in the daily work of local administrations.

The continuation of the training cycle is planned in the upcoming period for other local self-government units throughout Serbia.

The Commissioner Milan Marinović and the Deputy Commissioner Sanja Unković participated in the Venice Privacy Symposium from 20 to 24 April 2026. The Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner actively participated in a panel dedicated to the privacy challenges and developments in the current era in non-EU countries.

This Symposium included several hundred participants from data protection authorities, academia, and representatives of large multinational companies. Special attention was paid to the impact of artificial intelligence on all areas of life, and particularly on personal data protection.

Commissioner Milan Marinović and Deputy Commissioner Sanja Unković participated in the 118th Plenary Session of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), held on 15 and 16 April 2026 in Brussels.

The topic of this session was personal data protection in light of increasing challenges due to the rapid development of modern technologies and artificial intelligence, as well as the harmonisation of regulations in this regard. Representatives of data protection authorities from over thirty European countries participated in this session.