EORTC’s Anastassia Negrouk speaks out on the EU Data Protection Regulation

Protection of privacy is a serious matter. However, in health research, straightening and narrowing participant’s consent or limiting data storage in time is unlikely to increase the level of protection. On the other hand, these measures would surely jeopardize health research and progress of medical science violating rights on adequate health care and freedom of research.

In an interview appearing in the European Voice, EORTC’s Anastassia Negrouk urges the EU Parliament, Council, and Commission as well as all stakeholders to avoid rushing into any premature consensus as far as health research is concerned before careful consideration of each detail.

The EORTC invites regulators to keep an important level of flexibility in this part of regulation (through delegated act mechanism) to enable its further adaptation to international research, new technologies and needs of science, individuals to be protected and society as whole.

John Bean, PhD
EORTC, Medical Science Writer