英国脱欧与英欧数据保护关系的新构建

Brexit and Reconstruction of the Relations between the UK and the EU on Data Protection

英国脱欧的强政治化动力使得英欧未来总体关系发展为保留成员国资格、加入共同市场的挪威模式或特殊双边关系的瑞士模式的可能性较小,相对可能的理想博弈均衡点是"自贸区+模式"。在这一总体模式下,英欧新数据保护关系的内容之一是英国通过新《数据保护法》持续执行《一般数据保护条例》和《执法指令》等欧盟核心数据保护规范;内容之二是在跨境数据流动方面,英国获得"充分性决定+"的定制模式,包括《一般数据保护条例》和《执法指令》下的双重充分性决定、英国对于欧盟数据保护制度的适度参与。但这两个方面还面临诸多不确定性。英欧新数据保护关系将呈现出欧盟的外部差异一体化特点:欧盟成员国身份的强政治化、英欧数据保护关系的强相互依赖以及数据保护政策的弱政治化,意味着英国即便脱欧,在数据保护上仍将参与欧洲一体化。

The Brexit driven by a series of highly politicized factors excludes from the UK’s choice of its future relationship with the EU the EU membership, the Norway model or the Swiss model, while the ideal one is the “Canada model plus”, that is, an “FTA+” model. Within such a general framework, the relationship between the UK and EU on data protection is or should be reconstructed along new lines. On one hand, the UK has implemented the 2018 Data Protection Act in order to incorporate EU data protection legislations such as the GDPR and Law Enforcement Directive. On the other hand, the UK wishes to obtain the European Commission’s double adequacy decisions on trans-border data flow, with some special additional arrangements, including moderate involvement in the EU’s data protection regime, which are still faced with a number of uncertainties. Such a special arrangement can be explained plainly by the theory of external differentiated integration, which is the result of interactions among high politicization of the UK’s EU membership, strong interdependency between the UK and EU on data exchange, and weak politicization of data protection policy.