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Energy, Climate change, Environment
European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet)

Privacy Statement

Data Protection Notice for the Portal of the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet)

Your personal data is processed in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 2018/1725 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data.

The data controller of the processing operation is Head of Unit D.3 “Sustainable Blue Economy” of the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), CINEA-EMFAF-CALLS@ec.europa.eu. The following entities process your personal data on our behalf: EMODnet Secretariat administered by Seascape Belgium which is responsible for the content management of the EMODnet Portal website, and Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) which is responsible for developing and hosting the website and EMODnet Portal data services. As host and developer of the EMODnet Portal, VLIZ is therefore primarily responsible for data collection and ensuring data protection while the EMODnet Secretariat’s main role is to assist with the management of the data. Both entities can be reached at the following address: InnovOcean Campus, Jacobsenstraat 1, 8400 Oostende, Belgium, or by sending an email to helpdesk@emodnet.ec.europa.eu or privacy@vliz.be.

The legal basis for the processing activities are Article 5(1)(a) of Regulation EU 2018/1725 because 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); Article 5(1)(d) of Regulation EU 2018/1725 based on your explicit consent for your non-mandatory personal data indicated below.

The purposes of this processing are:

  1. The Contact Us Link
    Use of the contact us page (https://emodnet.ec.europa.eu/en/contact-us) allows visitors to provide comments, ask questions and/or provide feedback via a central email address (helpdesk@emodnet.ec.europa.eu). The feedback is stored and managed in the service desk system. The following personal data are collected: name, e-mail address
  2. Participation in (on-line) surveys
    At certain times, information may be collected using the EU Survey system (https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/home/welcome) on a voluntary basis, to evaluate the user experience, quality of the provided content and services on the EMODnet Portal, as well as the identification of areas for improvement. In some cases, personal data may be collected (mandatory or voluntarily, depending on the type of survey) depending on the type of survey and includes as a minimum following personal data: full name, email address, country, organisation and organisation type. 
  3. Conference and other event participation
    In order to participate in events organised by the EMODnet Secretariat in collaboration with its partners, registration is required for organisational purposes (venue size, catering services, to inform participants on programme updates, etc.). Registration involves collecting the following mandatory data: name, email, affiliation. Registration forms will contain a section to allow participants to subscribe to further communications by EMODnet Secretariat, or to remove their data once the event has taken place (this is the default option). For each event, several e-mails may be sent as part of the communication agreement: save-the-date, posting of the tentative programme, abstract submission calls, closing of the early bird or final programme, and the closing e-mail with links to pictures taken and download links for presentations.
    During our events, pictures/films may be taken which will be communicated to the participant, used in the EMODnet reports and other EMODnet publications, or posted on our website. If you do not want your pictures to be published, you can send a request for the removal of photographs or films to helpdesk@emodnet.ec.europa.eu. Photos in which the requesters are shown will be removed from our web sites and servers; for films, the film segment will be cut out or the film deleted if the requesters are clearly visible.
  4. Visitor tracking and website logs
    The EMODnet Portal makes use of the IT support and system of the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) to support its website and IT services. VLIZ keeps logs of website visits – which contain: an IP address, time stamp, and the URL visited and user agent string - for bug tracking and to monitor for malicious behaviour. The EMODnet Portal tracks user interactions with the Portal through the Europa Analytics system. Cookies used by Europa Analytics enable the European Commission to collect information about visitors that is used to prepare aggregated, anonymous statistics reports of visitors’ activity. The information collected is listed here: https://commission.europa.eu/europa-analytics_en.The Cookies expire after 13 months.
  5. Subscription to the EMODnet Newsletter mailing list
    The EMODnet Secretariat manages a mailing list to circulate the EMODnet News Digest (Newsletter and newsflashes). Each e-mail sent to these mailing lists contains an unsubscribe link and a contact address. The only personal data collected for this purpose is a functional e-mail address (mandatory). The EMODnet Secretariat makes use of the services of EC Newsroom for this purpose.
    • You can update your preferences and unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our EMODnet News Digest emails;

Any mandatory personal data collected (e.g. name and email) are used for the purposes outlined above and the non-mandatory data (e.g. institute) can only be processed based on your explicit prior consent.

The legal basis of the processing are:

  • Council Regulation 58/2003 of 19 December 2002 laying down the Statute for executive agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of EU programmes;
  • Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/173 of 12 February 2021 establishing the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency,./… and repealing Implementing Decisions 2013/801/EU…;
  • Commission Decision C(2021)947 of 12 February 2021, delegating powers to the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency;
  • Regulation (EU) 2021/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2021 establishing the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and amending Regulation (EU) 2017/1004 (EMFAF programme). 

Your personal data is only disclosed to recipients on a need to know basis.

The recipients of your personal data will be the contractors and/or operators in charge of the EMODnet Portal (Seascape Belgium administering the EMODnet Secretariat and Flanders Marine Institute hosting the EMODnet Portal) and could also be made accessible to CINEA and Commission staff in charge of EMODnet, staff of CINEA or Commission bodies charged with monitoring or inspection tasks in application of EU law (e.g. internal audits, Court of Auditors, European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF)).

The processing of your data will not include automated decision-making (such as profiling).

You have the right to access your personal data and to request your personal data to be rectified, if the data are inaccurate or incomplete; where applicable, you have the right to request restriction or to object to processing, to request a copy or erasure of your personal data held by the data controller. If processing is based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of the processing based on your consent before its withdrawal. If such actions are required, please email us at helpdesk@emodnet.ec.europa.eu or and/or privacy@vliz.be (link sends e-mail). Your request to exercise one of the above rights will be dealt with without undue delay and within one month.

If you have any queries concerning the processing of your personal data, you may address them to Head of Unit D.3 “Sustainable Blue Economy” of CINEA (entity acting as data controller) via: CINEA-EMFAF-CALLS@ec.europa.eu (link sends e-mail).

You shall have right of recourse at any time to the CINEA Data Protection Officer at CINEA-DPO@ec.europa.eu and to the European Data Protection Supervisor at https://edps.europa.eu.

In case of audits or proceedings, etc., personal data may be provided to CINEA’s Internal Controller, DPO, Legal Sector, etc.

In addition, data may be disclosed to public authorities in accordance with Union and Member State law, such as for instance the European Court of Justice or a national judge as well as the lawyers and the agents of the parties in case of a legal procedure, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), the Internal Audit Service of the Commission, the Court of Auditors, the European Ombudsman, the European Data Protection Supervisor and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.

However, in line with Article 25 of the Regulation, the data controller may restrict the rights of the data subjects based on the Decision of the Steering Committee (2020) 26 of 14/10/20 (OJEU L 45 on 9.2.2021, p. 80), in case where such restriction constitutes a measure necessary to safeguard the protection of the data subjects or the rights and freedoms of other data subjects, etc.

Please note that some services provided by EMODnet partners may contain links to other third-party tools or websites whose privacy practices may be different from this site. Neither EMODnet, CINEA, the European Commission or the European Union can be held responsible for the privacy practices or policies within any of these other third-party tools or websites. You should be aware of this when you leave the current website and we encourage you to carefully read the privacy statements of other web sites you visit, as we have no control over information that is submitted to or collected by such third parties.

We will update our Privacy Statement and Data Protection Notice whenever necessary. Unless, and until, you object in writing by contacting us at helpdesk@emodnet.ec.europa.eu or and/or privacy@vliz.be (link sends e-mail), all changes will apply to your existing personal information that EMODnet holds, and the personal information collected from the effective date of the revised Privacy Statement. Your use of the EMODnet Portal website following the effective date of any revision will constitute your acceptance of the terms of the updated Privacy Statement.

 

Version September 2024