What are cookies?

To facilitate the functioning of our website we may – subject to visitors’ consent – place small data files called cookies on your device. Cookies are pieces of text generated by the web services that a user has visited; these text files can be set on the users’ devices by the website they are currently visiting (“first party cookies”) or by a different website to the one they are currently visiting (“third party cookies”).

Below you can find information on the choice to accept (“opt-in”) or refuse the placement of cookies, the types of cookies used by our website and their purpose.

You will also find information on the possibility of opting-out from the use of cookies (if you have already chosen to opt-in).

How do we use cookies?

On the EU SST website the following types of cookies are used: ‘first-party persistent cookies', ‘session cookies’ and ‘social media cookies’.

'First-party persistent cookies' enable the tracking of the following information about the visitors to our website:

  • IP address (anonymised)
  • Location: country, region, city, approximate latitude and longitude (Geolocation)
  • Date and time of the request (visit to the site)
  • Title of the page being viewed (Page Title)
  • URL of the page being viewed (Page URL)
  • URL of the page that was viewed prior to the current page (Referrer URL)
  • Screen resolution of the user's device
  • Time in local visitor's time-zone
  • Files that were clicked and downloaded (Download)
  • Links to an outside domain that were clicked (Outlink)
  • Pages generation time (the time it takes for webpages to be generated by the webserver and then downloaded by the visitor: Page speed)
  • The main language of the browser being used (Accept-Language header)
  • Browser version, browser plugins (PDF, Flash, Java, …) operating system version, device identifier (User-Agent header)
  • Language of the visited page
  • Campaigns
  • Site Search
  • Events

The collected data will not be shared with any other organisations for marketing, market research or commercial purposes. Moreover, the abovementioned data cannot be used to identify a particular visitor.

'First party' cookies are created by the EU SST website and enable:

  • proper functioning of the website;
  • the EUSPA to collect statistics to improve website functionalities – for this purpose, EUSPA uses Matomo Analytics (more information is provided here);
  • social media sharing functions.

'Persistent' means that these cookies expire after thirteen months (13), after which they are automatically removed from the users’ device.

‘Session’ Cookies do not contain any data - they are placed for the duration of a user session (time spent browsing the website). These cookies are necessary to keep the visitor’s choice selection when the website is accessed.

‘Social media cookies’: The EU SST is active on three social media platforms. Our presence in the X, YouTube, and LinkedIn communities strengthens our online presence and visibility.

  • The EU SST website does not set cookies with the display of links to our social media channels when you are browsing our website;
  • You can watch EU SST videos, which we upload (embed) from our YouTube page. You can also follow links from our website to X and LinkedIn;
  • EU SST videos on our website are embedded from our YouTube channel, with privacy-enhanced mode enabled. This makes it possible to embed videos from our YouTube channel on our website without cookies;
  • Videos viewed on our YouTube channel follow YouTube’s own cookie and privacy policies over which we have no control. There is no installation of cookies from YouTube until you consent to YouTube cookies;
  • Similarly, by clicking on the X, or LinkedIn button on our website, you will be redirected to the respective sites, which have their own cookie and privacy policies over which we have no control.

Opting-in

When the website is accessed first, the website visitor is provided with a choice to accept (“OK, I agree”) or refuse (“Decline cookies”) the placement of cookies.

Accept cookies: 

By clicking this option, the visitor gives consent to the placement of all the cookies for the:

  • Optimal functioning of the website
  • Social media sharing function
  • Collection of statistics

Decline cookies: 

By clicking this option, the visitor does not give consent to the placement of any of the abovementioned cookies. In this case, only a session cookie is placed; this is a technical cookie, the main purpose of which is to remember the visitors’ selection choice. This cookie is placed for the duration of a user session (time spent browsing the website) and will automatically be deleted when said session expires. Choosing not to accept cookies does not hinder your navigation experience on the EU SST website.

No selection made: 

If a visitor neither accepts nor refuses cookies, the website treats this as a refusal to the placement of cookies and all related functions are on hold until a selection is made. No cookies shall be placed on visitors’ devices, unless consent has been given by clicking on the “OK, I agree” option.

Opting-out

In case a visitor has opted into the placement of cookies, it is always possible to change this decision and opt-out. In order to opt-out, visitors need to delete all the cookies from their browsers. If you do this, however, you may have to manually adjust some preferences every time you visit a site and some services and functionalities may not work. Each browser has a slightly different system – please see below some examples:

  • For Chrome go to: Settings › Privacy and Security › Clear browsing data › Select “Cookies and other site data”
  • For Internet Explorer go to: Safety › Delete Browsing History › Select “Cookies and website media” › Click “Delete”
  • Microsoft Edge go to: Settings › Clear Browsing Data › Select “Cookies and saved website data” › Click “Clear”.
  • For Firefox go to: Options › Privacy and Security › Cookies and Site Data › Click “Clear data”
  • For Safari go to: Preferences › Privacy › Cookies and website data › Click “Manage Website Data” (Mac) or “Remove All Website Data”. (Windows), › Select “Remove All” to delete all the cookies.

To learn more on how to clear your cookies in different browsers you may visit https://www.aboutcookies.org/.

“Do not track” option

Do Not Track is a technology that enables visitors to opt out from being tracked by websites for whatever purpose, including the use of analytics services, advertising networks and social platforms. You can enable the 'Do not track' option directly in your web browser. Matomo Analytics will not track users who have enabled this option in their web browsers.

Matomo Analytics

EU SST uses Matomo Analytics, a privacy-focused web analytics platform, to help us analyse website traffic and user behaviour. This tool enables us to gain insights into how our website is used, while maintaining strict control over the data collected.

The data processed through Matomo are limited to metrics such as page views, navigation paths, duration of visits and interactions with content.

Matomo prioritises user privacy by anonymising IP addresses and respecting "Do Not Track" settings. Users can control tracking by enabling or disabling cookies through their browser settings, and they can also activate the "Do Not Track" option to prevent tracking where supported.

The tool also offers cookieless tracking for enhanced privacy, and when cookies are used, they are first-party cookies, ensuring greater user control and confidentiality.

All data collected through Matomo is stored in a secure cloud environment, in full compliance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies (EUDPR).