Access to Documents Meets Data Protection : Do new developments in EU data protection threaten the Nordic tradition of access to public documents?

The Nordic countries have a long history of public access to official documents. In this respect, Nordic administrations are significantly more open than their non-Nordic counterparts in the European Union. In recent decades, the weight of the right to privacy and the right to protection of personal data has increased in European Union law. Data protection has been given the status of a fundamental right and the new General Data Protection Regulation came into effect on 25 May 2018. Taking into account the strict conditions that EU courts have defined for access to documents containing personal data, will the new Regulation limit the currently broad access in the Nordic countries? ; Non peer reviewed