September 2025
This Privacy Policy outlines how personal data is collected, used, stored, and shared within the MMinE-SwEEPER project consortium which addresses submerged marine munitions.
The Policy complies with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR).
1. What data do we collect?
The MMinE-SwEEPER project collects the following personal data:
- Name, email address, affiliation and, if needed, the country of the working organization.
- Stakeholder feedback, including responses to surveys, questionnaires or inputs to workshops organized to facilitate a dialogue between stakeholders and the project consortium.
We do not collect confidential data, information restricted by your organization’s internal policies, or any data beyond the scope of your professional competencies.
2. How do we collect your data?
Your data is collected through one or more of the following means:
- Direct invitations to participate in workshops or surveys.
- Identification as a relevant stakeholder based on publicly available sources (e.g., organizational websites).
- Voluntarily and explicitly expressed your interest in collaborating with the project activities.
- You are connected via the professional network of a MMinE-SwEEPER partner.
- Your activities are related to one of the following fields:
- Marine environmental protection and conservation.
- Human health and safety.
- Maritime and coastal activities.
- Industrial sectors with operations at sea or in coastal zones.
- Governmental, security and specialised technical authorities.
3. How do we use your data?
We use your personal data (email address, name, affiliation, and the country of the organization) for the following purposes:
- To contact you regarding collaboration in the project’s stakeholder dialogue.
- To collect your expertise feedback in surveys and workshops. Outcomes of surveys and workshops will be reported anonymously in the MMinE-SwEEPER project´s deliverables.
4. How is your personal data stored and for how long?
- Your personal data (email address, name, affiliation, and the country of the organization) provided to us is securely stored in a protected database hosted on a HELCOM server, solely accessible through a multifactor authentication system.
- The data will be retained until 31.03.2028, which marks the end date of MMinE-SwEEPER project. After this date, all personal data will be deleted in accordance with GDPR.
5. Who has access to your data?
- Access to your data is restricted to authorized staff of HELCOM Secretariat which may disclose to researches within MMinE-SwEEPER project solely on a need-to-know basis and only for the purposes of conducting research within the project.
- We do not share or sell your personal data to any external parties.
6. Your Rights
a) Right of access to personal data (Article 15 of the GDPR):
You have the right to request a copy of your personal data that we hold.
b) Right to rectification (Article 16 of the GDPR):
You may request corrections to any inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
c) Right to erasure (Article 17 of the GDPR):
You may request the deletion of your personal data of our database.
d) Right to object to processing (Article 21 of the GDPR):
You may object to the processing of your personal data.
e) Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (Article 77 of the GDPR):
If you believe that the processing of your personal data violates GDPR or national protection laws, you have the right to file a complaint with the relevant supervisory authority, such as the President of the Personal Data Protection Office.
Should you have any questions regarding this policy, or wish to exercise any of the rights mentioned above, please contact HELCOM Secretariat at rosario.dominguez@helcom.fi.