Anis H. Bajrektarevic; Vittoria Cagnin (2026). "Data Protection & AI influence – Comparative Analysis of the EU's GDPR and Data Protection Laws Across the non-EU Europe". in L'Europe unie 24/2026.

Data Protection & AI influence – Comparative Analysis of the EU’s GDPR and Data Protection Laws Across the non-EU Europe Prof. Dr. Anis H. Bajrektarevic[1] International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES), Vienna/ Ljubljana Vittoria Cagnin [2] Central European University, Vienna ABSTRACT. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), enacted by the European Union in 2016, has set a global benchmark for personal data protection. This paper offers a comparative analysis of GDPR and data protection frameworks across non-EU Europe — including EFTA states, Western Balkan EU candidates, Eastern European countries, the Caucasus, and Central Asia — while examining the escalating governance challenges posed by Artificial Intelligence. The paper traces how different country groupings align with, adapt, or diverge from GDPR standards, and analyses landmark enforcement cases such as Clearview AI and Turkey's KVKK actions. It further explores AI's impact on data ownership, the emerging right to an analogue life, and the risks of deepfake manipulation and predictive profiling. Drawing on the professor's conceptual framework linking the agrarian, industrial, and AI eras as successive redistributive crises, the paper argues that pan-European institutions — particularly the Council of Europe and the OSCE — are best positioned to establish a coordinated international governance framework for data protection in the age of AI. Keywords: data, technology, privacy, GDPR, EU countries, non-EU countries, Artificial Intelligence (AI) [1] Anis H. Bajrektarevic is chairperson and professor in international law and global political studies, Vienna, Austria. He has authored 10 books (for American and European publishers) and numerous articles on geopolitics energy and technology. Professor is editor of the NY-based GHIR (Geopolitics, History, and Intl. Relations) journal, and editorial board member of several similar specialized magazines on three continents. His 10th book was ‘Justice and Home Affairs Diplomacy’, New York, 2025. Anis H. Bajrektarevic, https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4111-1068 ; Bajrektarevic, Anis - Web of Science Researcher Profile ; Web of Science Researcher ID: CFE-0040-2022; https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=36547341700 ; Scopus - Document search results | Signed in ; www.ifimes.org ; anis.bajrektarevic@sit.edu [2] Vittoria Cagnin is currently pursuing an MA in International Public Affairs at Central European University vittoria.cagnin@gmail.com . ORCID: website: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-2783-3771 ; Web of Science ResearcherID: QOA-9834-2026: QOA-9834-2026 ; WoS website: https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/QOA-9834-2026 ; SSRN: Author ID: 12173989. ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Vittoria-Cagnin