Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers Deputy Director – Equality and Union citizenship, European Commission
Marie-Hélène Boulanger began her career in the field of data protection working with Professor Poullet for six years at the University of Namur. She then spent five years at the Belgian Data Protection Authority, two of which years as its Secretary and head of service. From there, she joined Directorate-General Internal Market of the European Commission as a national expert at the data protection unit, then moving to the Directorate General of in charge of Justice and Home affairs, where she was responsible for the legal team of the unit responsible for large scale IT systems and also specialised in the policy aspects of the Schengen Information System. Between September 2009 and June 2014, she headed the data protection unit in charge, among others of the reform of EU data protection law. She has been acting Director for equality and citizenship end of 2016 and early 2017. Since July 2014, she has been the head of the unit in charge of citizenship rights and free movement, delivering the Commission’s priorities to support free movement in the coronavirus pandemic through the EU digital Covid certificates, monitoring the implementation of the EU-UK withdrawal agreement, leading proposals in the field of democracy and electoral integrity, including political advertising and the participation rights of mobile EU citizens and the Recommendation against SLAPPs, as well as the many priorities set out in the EU citizenship report, such as improvements to how consular protection rights are implemented, and a common format for EU Member State ID cards.
