The United Kingdom (UK)'s departure from the European Union (‘Brexit’) will have no influence on the protection of UK citizens’ personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies. In the European Union, the protection of natural persons in relation to the processing of personal data is a fundamental right: Article 8(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and Article 16(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union provide that everyone has the right to the protection of personal data concerning him or her, regardless of their nationality or residence.

As a consequence, both the current[1] as well as the proposed[2] legislation on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies offer the same high level of protection to all individuals, including UK citizens, whose data are being processed by Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies.

• [1] Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data, OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1‐22.
• [2] Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council 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, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC, COM (2017) 08 final.