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EU: "Carte Blanche" for transferring personal data outside the EU

01 September 2007

Proposal for a Council Framework Decision on the protection of personal data processed in the framework of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters - Agreement on certain questions (EU doc no: 12154/1/07 REV 1, pdf). This is to be discussed at the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 18 September 2007 in Brussels. It contains the same fudges as EU doc no: 12154/07, pdf) with the additional "compromise" that member states can transfer data outside the EU to third states or international organisations:

"by giving general (rather than on a case-by-case basis) consent for categories of law enforcement information or for specified third countries" (new Recital 12a)

This has replaced the reservations of "Some delegations" (EU doc 12154/07, above) who wanted prior consent to be obtain for any such transfer outside the EU. All existing national bilateral agreements with third states are to stay in place (at the insistence of the USA).

The Council is proceeding on the drafting of this Framework Decision by continuing to ignore the views of the European Parliament, the European Data Protection Supervisor and the Article 29 Working Party (all national Data Protection Commissioners).

Update: EU doc no: 12154/2/07 REV 2 (dated 13 September 2007, pdf). It looks like the Council is heading for a "general agreement" on the text.

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