4.5.2016
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
L 119/25
(133) The supervisory authorities should assist each other in performing their tasks and provide mutual assistance, so
as to ensure the consistent application and enforcement of this Regulation in the internal market. A supervisory
authority requesting mutual assistance may adopt a provisional measure if it receives no response to a request for
mutual assistance within one month of the receipt of that request by the other supervisory authority.
(134) Each supervisory authority should, where appropriate, participate in joint operations with other supervisory
authorities. The requested supervisory authority should be obliged to respond to the request within a specified
time period.
(135) In order to ensure the consistent application of this Regulation throughout the Union, a consistency mechanism
for cooperation between the supervisory authorities should be established. That mechanism should in particular
apply where a supervisory authority intends to adopt a measure intended to produce legal effects as regards
processing operations which substantially affect a significant number of data subjects in several Member States. It
should also apply where any supervisory authority concerned or the Commission requests that such matter
should be handled in the consistency mechanism. That mechanism should be without prejudice to any measures
that the Commission may take in the exercise of its powers under the Treaties.
(136) In applying the consistency mechanism, the Board should, within a determined period of time, issue an opinion,
if a majority of its members so decides or if so requested by any supervisory authority concerned or the
Commission. The Board should also be empowered to adopt legally binding decisions where there are disputes
between supervisory authorities. For that purpose, it should issue, in principle by a two-thirds majority of its
members, legally binding decisions in clearly specified cases where there are conflicting views among supervisory
authorities, in particular in the cooperation mechanism between the lead supervisory authority and supervisory
authorities concerned on the merits of the case, in particular whether there is an infringement of this Regulation.
(137) There may be an urgent need to act in order to protect the rights and freedoms of data subjects, in particular
when the danger exists that the enforcement of a right of a data subject could be considerably impeded. A
supervisory authority should therefore be able to adopt duly justified provisional measures on its territory with a
specified period of validity which should not exceed three months.
(138) The application of such mechanism should be a condition for the lawfulness of a measure intended to produce
legal effects by a supervisory authority in those cases where its application is mandatory. In other cases of crossborder relevance, the cooperation mechanism between the lead supervisory authority and supervisory authorities
concerned should be applied and mutual assistance and joint operations might be carried out between the
supervisory authorities concerned on a bilateral or multilateral basis without triggering the consistency
mechanism.
(139) In order to promote the consistent application of this Regulation, the Board should be set up as an independent
body of the Union. To fulfil its objectives, the Board should have legal personality. The Board should be
represented by its Chair. It should replace the Working Party on the Protection of Individuals with Regard to the
Processing of Personal Data established by Directive 95/46/EC. It should consist of the head of a supervisory
authority of each Member State and the European Data Protection Supervisor or their respective representatives.
The Commission should participate in the Board's activities without voting rights and the European Data
Protection Supervisor should have specific voting rights. The Board should contribute to the consistent
application of this Regulation throughout the Union, including by advising the Commission, in particular on the
level of protection in third countries or international organisations, and promoting cooperation of the
supervisory authorities throughout the Union. The Board should act independently when performing its tasks.
(140) The Board should be assisted by a secretariat provided by the European Data Protection Supervisor. The staff of
the European Data Protection Supervisor involved in carrying out the tasks conferred on the Board by this
Regulation should perform its tasks exclusively under the instructions of, and report to, the Chair of the Board.
(141) Every data subject should have the right to lodge a complaint with a single supervisory authority, in particular in
the Member State of his or her habitual residence, and the right to an effective judicial remedy in accordance