NRF-EU Delegation Meetings – November 13-15, 2022

Invitation to Join NRF-EU Delegation Meetings

The NRF Government Relations team is again building a representative group of retail member company executives to serve as delegates for a series of high-level meetings to be held on November 14-15, 2022 with European Union (EU) and U.S. officials located in Brussels, Belgium, and with Europe-based retail company members of EuroCommerce. (EuroCommerce is a Brussels-based retailer and wholesaler trade association with whom NRF has annually held joint meetings in Brussels since 2016 to explore opportunities to collaborate on public policy advocacy efforts within the EU.) 

If you are interested in joining NRF’s EU Delegation, please review the eligibility requirements below before clicking on the registration button. Please register as soon as possible: space in this year’s delegation is limited and registration will close at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Friday, October 21.

Eligibility Requirements: Participation in the NRF Delegation is open only to current employees of NRF retail member companies. Non-company or outside consultants or attorneys who represent member companies in Brussels will be unable to register or participate as delegates. Additional information about the meeting program and participation in it is provided below; all delegates are required to participate in the entirety of the first day and are invited to participate in as many meetings as possible on the second day (meeting schedule TBD).

Principal Topics of Discussion for Meetings: Our meetings will cover a range of public policy issues that impact retailers who compete within the global retail and chain restaurant industries, including:

• Transatlantic data flows:
  • outlook for the new Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework and revamped EU-U.S. Privacy Shield program that will come back into effect once the EU issues an adequacy determination following the U.S. Executive Order addressing concerns raised by the Schrems II court;
  • issues regarding implementation of the European Commission’s modernized Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) and the European Data Protection Board’s recommendations for supplementary measures following the Schrems II decision for transatlantic data flows outside the Privacy Shield; and
  • implications of the Facebook and Google Analytics decisions for transatlantic data flows.
• Transatlantic governmental cooperation and trade discussions:
  • the progress of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council ahead of the third meeting in the U.S., including on data governance, AI and technology standards.
• GDPR and other data protection regulations:
  • open issues of concern to retailers with respect to EU data protection regulations and guidance, including compliance with and enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and its potential overlap with the proposed e-Privacy Regulation.
• Platform regulation package – Digital Services Act (DSA) / Digital Markets Act (DMA):
  • issues for retailers related to the implementation of the EU's platform regulation package (see Freshfields’ blogposts here and here), following the European Parliament’s approval of final texts of the package on July 5, 2022, which aims to update the EU’s legislative framework for online intermediaries and platforms, as well curb the power of a limited group of so-called “gatekeeper” platforms.
• Artificial Intelligence Act:
  • the potential impact of the EU’s proposed Artificial Intelligence Act (see Freshfields’ briefing here) on the U.S. National Artificial Intelligence Initiative and future U.S. federal or state AI legislation.
• Data Act:
  • issues that may impact retailers related to the proposed Data Act (see Freshfields blogpost here), which forms part of the European Data Strategy and aims to facilitate the access, exchange and use of data between businesses and with governments, with a focus on connected devices and data processing services (e.g., cloud services).

Expected Participation Level for NRF Delegates

• Meeting Attendance: All delegates will be expected to participate in all meetings on Monday, November 14, and the meeting with the U.S. Mission to the European Union on Tuesday, November 15. To the extent that they can, delegates are also strongly encouraged to attend meetings with other EU officials on Tuesday, November 15.
• Pre-Trip Survey: All delegates will be required to complete a brief, confidential survey prior to the trip that confirms their expected level of participation and requests input on questions they would like addressed in the meetings. Because we must provide participant lists to EU and U.S. officials, it is imperative that we have accurate headcounts for participation in these meetings.

No Registration Fee for NRF Members

This program is being provided to NRF member companies as a benefit of your membership. As such, there are no registration fees, however members participating in these meetings are responsible for their own travel expenses, including transportation to Brussels and hotel accommodations (if necessary) in Brussels. NRF will cover ground transportation in Brussels between meetings on November 14-15 and will also be providing registrants additional information about a block of hotel rooms that NRF is securing in Brussels for delegates.

Questions

If you have any questions regarding the participation requirements, preliminary agenda (available upon request) or registration process, please contact Eileen Pryor.