(Telecompaper) The European Commission has released the text of the proposed 'Privacy Shield' agreed with the US, which is expected to replace the previous safe harbour designation on data transfers from the EU to the US. The publication includes a draft "adequacy decision" from the Commission as well as the Privacy Shield Principles companies have to abide by and written commitments by the US government on the enforcement of the arrangement, including assurance on the safeguards and limitations concerning access to data by public authorities. The EC found that the safeguards in the new agreement should uphold the standards under EU data protection law and meet the requirements of the EU Court of Justice's ruling in October 2015, which struck down the previous safe harbour designation for the US. However, the new agreement must still be approved by a committee of representatives of the 28 EU states, and the EU's national privacy regulators must also give their opinion on the Privacy Shield before it can take effect.