Our privacy policy

1. About this Privacy Policy

The Financial Mechanism Office (FMO, ‘we’) is an international organisation affiliated with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). We do not use any of the personal data that we collect for commercial purposes but only in the exercise of official authority vested in us via the EEA Agreement and the relevant protocols on the EEA and Norway Financial Mechanisms.

The FMO respects your online privacy and handles your personal data with care. We are responsible for the use of the personal data that we collect to carry out our activities and take all measures within our power to ensure the safety of that use of personal data. 

This Privacy Policy sets out how FMO collects, uses and stores personal data. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand how FMO collects, uses and stores your personal data.

If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact:

Data Protection Officer
Financial Mechanism Office
Rue Joseph II, 12-16
1000 Brussels
Belgium
Email: FMODataProtection@efta.int.

 

2. When do we collect information about you?

In general, we collect your information as is explained in the following.  

We collect information:

·        when you give it to us directly (see 2.1 below)

·        when you give it to us indirectly (see 2.2 below)

·        when you use our website, through cookies (see 2.3 below).

 

2.1. Directly

2.1.1. When contacting us:

·        First name, surname, title 

·        E-mail address

·        Organisation, position

·        Query.

2.1.2. When working with us:

·        First name surname, title 

·        E-mail address

·        Organisation, job title, department

·        Telephone number, address

·        Skype & Twitter accounts

·        Login on information systems

·        Personal identification number, ID card

·        Bank account number.

2.1.3. During a visit to this Website:

·        IP address

·        Authentication and tracking cookies – see our cookies policy.

2.1.4. When registering for our newsletters:

·        E-mail address

·        First name, surname, title 

·        Tracking data (subscriptions, bounces, opens, clicks, geographic location).

2.1.5. As consultants, or some other business relation:

·        Name, surname, title 

·        E-mail address

·        Organisation, job title, department

·        Telephone number, address

·        Bank account number

·        Curriculum vitae.

2.1.6. When participating in Surveys:

·        Name, surname, title 

·        Gender

·        Profession.

2.1.7. When attending our events or participating in projects funded by us:

·        Name, surname, title 

·        E-mail address

·        Organisation, job title, department

·        Telephone number, address

·        Dietary Needs

·        Pictures and videos.

 

2.2. Indirectly

FMO sometimes processes public data, e.g. data that are subject to a publication duty, such as the publication of your appointment as director of an organisation, or data that you made public yourself, such as information posted on your website, or data that are generally known in your region or that have appeared in the press. We may also receive information about you from third parties – but only if you have given them permission to share your information or if permitted under the applicable rules and regulations.

 

2.3 Cookie policy

 

2.3.1 WHAT IS A COOKIE?

A cookie is a small text file that a website stores on your computer or mobile device when you visit the site. They are widely used to “remember” you and your preferences, to make websites work (or work more efficiently), as well as to provide information to the owners of the website.

Our cookies have different functions. They are either necessary for the functioning of our services, help us improve our performance and give you extra functionalities.

Every time you visit the EEA and Norway Grants website, you will be prompted to accept or refuse cookies.

 

2.3.2 HOW DO WE USE COOKIES?

We use two types of cookies:

Ø  Essential – cookies that are essential to provide you with services you have requested. For example, these include the cookies that make it possible for you to use the website’s different functionalities and save your preferences about cookies.

Ø  Performance - cookies which measure how often you visit our website and how you use it. We use this information to get a better sense of how our users engage with our content. For example, we collect information about which of our pages are most frequently visited, and by which types of users.

You have the right to choose whether or not to accept cookies and to set your own cookie preferences on your computer.

These preferences can be to accept all cookies or not to receive cookies at all. Users can block most cookies by activating the setting on their browser that allows users to refuse the setting of all or some cookies. However, if the browser settings to block all cookies (including essential cookies) users may not be able to access all or parts of the website, or users may experience reduced functionality or unexpected operations when accessing certain services.

 

2.3.3 WHAT TYPES OF COOKIES DO WE COLLECT?

Essential cookies

These are necessary cookies that we use to provide the basic functions of the website. They are essential to be able to access features of the website. They allow for a user to navigate back and forth between pages without losing their previous actions from the same session. 

  • DRUPAL COOKIES
  • DRUPAL SessionID (for logged in users only)

Third party cookies

Some of our pages display content from external providers, e.g. YouTube. To view this third-party content, you first have to accept their specific terms and conditions. This includes their cookie policies, which we have no control over. They can be changed autonomously by the third party services that apply them. But if you do not view this content, no third-party cookies are installed on your device.

YOUTUBE

  • consent (18 years)
  • gps (30 min)
  • pref (243 days)
  • visitor_info1_live (180 days)
  • ysc (On session close) 

 

GOOGLE ANALYTICS

  • _gat_gtag_UA_5631832_1 (On session close
  • _ga (1 year
  • _gid (2 hours)

 

JUICER (social media feed)

  • __cfduid (30 days)

Please note that we have no control over the third-party cookies listed above. Providers may, at any time, change their terms of service, purpose and use of cookies, etc.

Find out more about juiceryoutube  and google analytics here.

 

3. Purposes of the processing

As a general rule, your personal data will not be used for any other purpose than those for which they were provided to us. The main purpose of processing the data is the implementation of the EEA and Norway Grants (the Grants).

The EEA and Norway Grants are funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The Grants have two goals – to contribute to a more equal Europe, both socially and economically – and to strengthen the relations between Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and the 15 beneficiary countries in Europe. This strengthens the internal market, leading to a more prosperous Europe.  

The FMO is the Brussels-based secretariat for the Grants. The FMO, which is administratively a part of the European Free Trade Association, is responsible for the day-to-day implementation of the Grants and serves as a contact point for all stakeholders.

Your personal data may be used by the FMO in the following ways:

·        In order to implement the Grants, i.e., inter alia, for preparation of MoUs, concept notes and programme agreements defining the scope and planned results for each programme; managing programmes; evaluations of on-going or completed programmes.  

·        To provide the requested information or services.

·        The sending of newsletters, with your prior explicit consent.  

·        For our internal and external communications, with your prior explicit consent or affirmative action.

·        Reg. the IP address: to look after and improve this website by including personal data in anonymous statistics, from which the identity of specific persons or companies cannot be discovered, with as legal basis the legitimate interests of FMO in continuously improving its website and provision of services.

Any personal data you submit when applying for career opportunities will be used solely for recruitment purposes (including for identifying job applicants, evaluating applications, making hiring and employment decisions, and contacting you by phone or in writing).

You are not obliged to release your personal data, but you do understand that the granting of certain services becomes impossible if you refuse the processing.

 

4. Who has access to your data?

4.1. Trained staff

Your information is only accessible by our staff and your personal data will, as a general rule, only be accessible insofar as it is necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it was collected.

4.2. Transfer to third parties

FMO will not sell your personal data, rent them out, share them or otherwise make them commercially available to third parties.

Your personal data are only shared or transferred to third parties if such sharing or transfer is authorized by you or required to achieve the purposes for which you have provided them to us. It means that we may share your personal data with service providers or other third parties, who help assist us in fulfilling our purposes.

FMO shall make reasonable attempts to inform you in advance of the fact that FMO discloses your data to named third parties, but you also acknowledge that this is not technically or commercially feasible under all circumstances.

Exceptionally, we support projects outside the EEA and may have a need to transfer certain personal data to countries outside the EEA which do not provide an adequate level as required under EU data protection law. We use Standard Contractual Clauses to ensure that your personal data is adequately protected and your privacy respected in the case of such a transfer.

4.3. Legal requirements

In rare cases, it is possible that FMO is obliged to reveal your personal data subject to a court order or in order to comply with other compelling laws or regulations. FMO shall make reasonable attempts to inform you in advance about this, unless it is subject to legal restrictions.

 

5. Duration of the processing

The personal data are kept and processed by us for a period that is necessary as a function of the purposes of the processing as described in article 3, and, where applicable, as a function of the contractual relationship between the FMO and you.

The aforementioned personal data are in any case kept in accordance with prescription periods that oblige us to maintain your personal data for a longer period, e.g. in order to defend ourselves against an action at law.

 

6. Security and confidentiality

·        We use reasonable precautions to protect your personal data and to store it securely. Our website has a secure SSL certificate, a global standard security technology that enables encrypted communication between the web browser and the web server.

·        Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. We will do our best to protect your personal data but cannot guarantee the security of your information transmitted to our website; any transmission is at your own risk.

·        You must at all times observe the security rules, including by preventing any unauthorised access to your login and password. You are thus solely responsible for the use that is made as of the website from your computer, IP address and from your identification data, as well as for the confidentiality thereof.

 

7. What are your Rights?

7.1. Your Rights

You have a number of rights under data protection legislation:

·        You can request any information we hold on you in writing.

·        You have the right to ask us to stop using or to restrict the processing of your personal data.

·        You can withdraw your consent to us processing your data at any time (where such processing is based on consent)

·        If you believe our records are inaccurate you have the right to ask for records concerning you to be updated. To update your records please get in touch with us using the details above.

·        You have a right to erasure (“to be forgotten” i.e. to have your personal data deleted from our database).

7.2. Exercising your rights

If you have any concerns about the way your data is being used, please contact us via FMODataProtection@efta.int.

7.3. Right to file a complaint

You are entitled to file a complaint about how FMO treats your data. To do so, you may contact the Data Protection Officer at the FMO via e-mail: FMODataProtection@efta.int.

 

8. Changes in the Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to amend this Privacy Policy. If we make any significant changes in the way we treat your personal data we’ll make this clear on our websites or by contacting you directly. You are advised to visit this website section periodically in order to keep up to date with the changes in our Privacy Policy.

Date of last update of Privacy Policy – 17/09/2020