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EU: European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) blasts the Council's attitude to data protection and calls on the incoming Portuguese Council Presidency to take a different direction

01 June 2007

Full-text of EDPS letter to incoming Council Presidency (pdf) and Press release (pdf). The EDPS, Peter Hustinx says:

"I fear that messages such as 'no right to privacy until life and security are guaranteed' are developing into a mantra suggesting that fundamental rights and freedoms are a luxury that security can not afford. I very much challenge that view and stress that there should be no doubt that effective anti-terror measures can be framed within the boundaries of data protection" (press release) and

"more and more statements are being made by leaders and representatives of Member States which seem to suggest that rights afforded by privacy and data protection legislation are viewed as incompatible with security and justice in the face of the threats posed by international terrorism...[including] a similar statement made at the latest G6 summit in Venice by the Vice President of the European Commission, Mr Franco Frattini." (letter to incoming Presidency) and this position:

"ignores the lessons learned about the abuse of fundamental rights from dealing with terrorism within Europe's borders over the last 50 years... In the past examples can be found in different parts of Europe where the failure to protect fundamental rights has served as source of continued unrest rather than ensure safety and stability."

- Conclusions on the Draft data protection proposal on police and judicial cooperation (EU doc no: 10200 rev 1 2007) - adopted at the Justice and Home Affairs Council in Luxembourg (12 JUne 2007) - state that:

"These rules will build upon the minimum data protection principles set by the Convention of 28 January 1981 for the protection of individuals with regard to automatic processing of personal data and its Additional Protocol of 8 November 2001, and take account of Recommendation (87)15 regulating the use of personal data in the police sector, both adopted in the framework of the Council of Europe."

When the opinions of the European Data Protection Authorities, the European Data Protection Supervisor and the Council of Europe say that the draft being discussed up in secret Council working party meetings does nothing of the sort.

The Council Conclusions also state that it:

"will examine all solutions suggested by the European Parliament, in the spirit of co-operation that is reflected in the opinion."

The European Parliament report: Adopted 2nd report (dated 24.5.07, pdf) propose 60 amendments to the draft on the table in the Council working party.

Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:

"So far there is absolutely no evidence - both in its response to the European Parliament's first report last year and and its new one that the Council is taking any notice at all. Nor is there, as yet, any evidence that it is responding to the detailed critiques from the European Data Protection Supervisor and the European Data Protection Authorities.

It is to be hoped that Mr Hustinx's intervention will shame the Council (and the Commission) in calling a halt to the catalogue of measures - of which data protection is one - which have consistently put the demands of "security" before fundamental rights and civil liberties."

Commissioner Frattini's press release (12.6.07) adds nothing to the Council Conclusions.

For the full background and documentation see Statewatch's Observatory on data protection in the EU