Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)

The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), alongside the Treaty on European Union (TEU), forms the constitutional basis of the EU. The TFEU details the powers and decision-making processes of EU institutions and provides the legal basis for internal policies, covering the internal market, free movement of goods and people, competition law, and personal data protection. Notably, Article 16 establishes the right to protection of personal data, serving as the legal foundation for regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and setting a high standard for global digital governance.

Taiwanese companies doing business with the EU or processing the personal data of EU residents must comply with regulations derived from the TFEU. For instance, the GDPR mandates strict data protection measures, with violations leading to fines of up to €20 million or 4% of global annual turnover. Furthermore, recent EU legislation like the NIS2 Directive and the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), both rooted in TFEU principles, impose mandatory cybersecurity standards for hardware and software sold in the EU. This presents direct compliance challenges and market access barriers for Taiwan's high-tech, semiconductor, and automotive supply chain industries.

As a cornerstone of EU law, the principles of the TFEU are closely linked to several international standards and regulations. The spirit of TFEU Article 16 on data protection rights is directly embodied in the GDPR. Companies can implement the requirements of GDPR by adopting ISO/IEC 27001 (Information Security Management Systems) and ISO/IEC 27701 (Privacy Information Management Systems). To address the NIS2 Directive, which also stems from the TFEU, companies can refer to standards like ISO/IEC 27001 and the IEC 62443 series (for industrial automation and control systems cybersecurity) to enhance the cyber resilience of their operational technology (OT) and supply chains.

Winners Consulting is Taiwan's pioneering consultancy integrating ERM, industrial engineering, technology law, and data science. Our founder has a background in preventive law, and our team comprises tech lawyers, ISO lead auditors, and AI experts. We specialize in vertically integrating compliance with TFEU-derived regulations (like GDPR and NIS2) with international standards (ISO 27001/27701) and a company's existing internal controls. With practical experience assisting semiconductor leaders like TSMC and MediaTek in optimizing cybersecurity and trade secret protection, we provide interdisciplinary, integrated solutions that prevent redundant efforts and effectively address complex international compliance challenges.