The following information relates to the protection of your personal data. This is the data that allows you to be identified, directly or indirectly.

Personal data is collected by FPS Chancellery of the Prime Minister when:

• you surf on the pages of the News.belgium. In your browser, those pages begin with https://news.belgium.be. When a link takes you to another website, an online application or a social network, you must check the terms and conditions for the processing of personal data used by those responsible for those services

• you contact us
• you subscribe to our newsletter
• you create an account on this website 

You are protected in accordance with:

• European Regulation 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 (entered into force on 25 May 2018) on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (GDPR)
• the Act of 30 July 2018 on the protection of natural persons as regards the processing of personal data

The Royal Decree (15 May 2001) incorporating the FPS Chancellery of the Prime Minister outlined the duties of the Directorate General External Communication as follows:

• the creation of a knowledge cell
• the creation of a communication service centre
• the organisation, development and coordination of trans-departmental communication and information for and with citizens, the media and policy makers

The Royal Decree of 19 July 2001 implementing Article 2, 1°, of the Act of 11 April 1994 on the freedom of information (Belgian Law Gazette of 1 September 2001) also outlines the duties of the Directorate General to ensure the design and implementation of the information policy of the federal government, in particular:

1. to use all educational means to educate citizens and inform them better about their country
2. to collect the most complete documentation possible on national heritage, activities and achievements
3. to coordinate the initiatives taken in the fields referred to under 1 and 2

Personal data is collected and processed with the aim of:

• informing you
• answering your questions

Data is also collected and processed anonymously: 

• for statistical and qualitative purpose, with the aim of improving our services
• to provide you with an answer in your language

If your request for information or services is intended for another department, we provide you with the particulars of that department and you are free to choose whether or not to contact them.

In the situations listed in the table below, personal data is collected and processed automatically.

The other personal data that may be processed is listed in the data processing register.

Data that is not of a personal nature is automatically collected without linking it to your IP address and therefore with respect for your privacy. It is used to generate statistics and to improve the content of the portal site: language selection, search engine used, keywords used, website from which you came, pages you viewed, duration of each page view, list of files downloaded, date and time of access, browser used, platform and/or operating system installed on your computer.

This site uses the following cookies:

Cookies needed for the proper functioning of the site:

• session: single session
• language: language selection
• has_js: to determine whether your browser accepts JavaScript or not (session status)

The storage duration of:

• your IP address is 12 months;
• the cookies is 1 month;
• the exchanges through e-mail or the webform is 12 months;
• your data when you subscribe to our newsletter: until you unsubscribe;
• the information in the “user” account you have created: until you delete your account.

In exceptional cases, such as in the context of legal proceedings, your personal data may be stored for a longer period.

The FPS Chancellery of the Prime Minister guarantees the security (integrity and confidentiality) of your personal data. It is protected against unauthorised access, unauthorised use, loss and unauthorised changes.

To this end, we use security methods and procedures that we will not describe in detail here for security reasons.  

Please note: Appropriate physical, technical and organisational measures are taken to guarantee a level of security that is appropriate with regard to the risks.

You have certain rights relating to the personal data that we use: the right of inspection, the right of modification, the right to object and the right to have data deleted.

Your application will be processed within 30 calendar days. If your application is complex or if our department has to deal with a large number of applications, that period may be extended by 60 days.

Please send an e-mail or letter to our Data Protection Officer together with a scanned copy or paper copy of your identity document containing your signature to the following address in order to exercise your rights:

dpo@premier.fed.be

FPS Chancellery of the Prime Minister
Courtesy of the Data Protection Officer
Rue de la Loi 16
1000 Brussels

If you consider that the FPS Chancellery of the Prime Minister has not processed your personal data in accordance with the applicable regulations, you are entitled to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Authority:

Data Protection Authority

Rue de la Presse 35
1000 Brussels

E-mail: contact@apd-gba.be

For more information about our data protection policy, you can contact our Data Protection Officer at: dpo@premier.fed.be