 Privacy and
surveillanceObservatory on data protection in the
EU
- the protection of personal data in police and judicial matters - full-text documentation on all the secret discussions in the Council Introduction The EU is currently discussing a draft Framework Decision on the protection of personal data processed in the framework of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. The European Commission produced a draft proposal on 4 October 2005. The European Parliament finally adopted its report on 27 September - a "partial vote" in July voted through all 60 amendments agreed by the Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE). On this issue the parliament is only "consulted" - which means that its views can be disregarded by the Council of the European Union (the 25 EU governments). The Council has taken months
looking at the Commission proposal and have changed it substantially in favour
of "self-regulation" by the agencies and removing the rights of data subjects to
information held on them and the possibility to correct it. Lord Avebury (UK House of Lords Select Committee on the EU) will put it to the European Parliament on 3 October 2006 in the following terms, the MDG's: "primary interest is to make life difficult for criminals, not to have regard to the interests of data subjects" [The full-text of Lord Avebury's speech to the EP on data protection and the principle of availability (pdf)] Peter Hustinx, the European Data Protection Supervisor, expressed similar concerns to the UK House of Lords Select Committee on the EU inquiry (Behind Closed Doors, see below), discussions he said were progressing very slowly, partly because: "national delegations tend to come from law enforcement areas which, up to now, largely prefer to ignore data protection”. The legitimacy of the decision-making process is also of concern on such an important issue. The European Parliament only has powers of "consultation" nevertheless it adopted a report with 60 amendments to strengthen the Commission's proposal - a final vote was delayed from July until September in the hope that the incoming Finnish Council Presidency would be "willing to take into account Parliament's demands", there is little evidence that it has done so. If the final version agreed within the Council is substantially different from that put forward by the Commission the parliament can insist that it is consulted again - unless it does there will be no time at all for a debate in parliaments and outside. Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments: "This is going to be a momentous decision affecting existing national laws on data protection, and the exchange of data within the EU and around the globe. It is also going to the the foundation of the right of data protection in a host of planned and future EU measures, including the new Schengen Information System (SIS II). The Commission draft proposal is being substantially re-written by the Council's Multidisciplinary Group on Organised Crime including removing the rights of data subjects and obstacles to the passing of data to third countries outside the EU. Until the Council finishes its so-called "second reading" the final text will not been known - when they are intending to simply "nod" it through. If it does so without the opportunity for national and European parliaments and civil society to express their views it will utterly lack legitimacy" Key documents (latest first)
- 13246/1/06
REV1, 9 October 2006. It
will be seen in the introduction (p2, pt 4) that the draft "departs from the
point of view that the FD will also be applicable to domestic data
processing" - 12294/06,
dated 19 September 2006 - "Issues paper" - 12432/06 - Questions on scope, 6 September
2006 - 11547/3/06 Full-text of the Council's draft at
13 September 2006 "At the meetings of the MDG - Mixed
Committee of 8 February, 9 and 31 March, 25 April and 19 May 2006 the first two
chapters were discussed in-depth. At the meetings of 20 June, 7 and 25 July
2006, Chapter III was discussed. At the meeting of 4 September 2006, Chapters IV
and V were discussed. Delegations are invited to discuss of Chapters VI, VII and
VIII." - 11547/2/06
Full-text of the
Council's draft at 24 August 2006 - 11547/06 Full-text of the Council's draft at
13 July 2006 - 8175/2/06 - Information on state of play of
discussions, 25 April 2006 - 8175/1/06 - Information on state of play of
discussions, 24 April 2006 - 8175/06 Scope: application to processing of
data in a purely domestic context, 6 April 2006 - 6450/5/06 Full-text of the Council's draft at
23 June 2006 - 6450/4/06 Full-text of the Council's draft at 7
July 2006 - 6450/3/06 Full-text of the Council's draft at
11 May 2006 "At the meetings of the
MDG - Mixed Committee of 8 February, 9 and 31 March, 25 April and 19 May 2006
the first two chapters were discussed in-depth. Further to those discussions the
Presidency has amended the text of the relevant provisions of Chapter II, which
has a pivotal position in the draft Framework Decision." (emphasis
added) - 6450/2/06 Full-text of the Council's draft at
19 April 2006 - 6450/1/06 Full-text of the Council's draft at
23 March 2006 - 6450/06 Full-text of the Council's draft at
28 February 2006 - 5485/06 Discussion of issues, 23 January
2006 - 5193/06 Changes to the preamble ("Recitals"),
11 January 2006 - 15554/05 Discussion of issues: 21 December
2005 - 14326/05 Discussion of issues: 15 November
2005 The final report issued by
the Council's Information Systems and Data Protection Working Party in April
2001 (it met between 1998-2001) - the Working Party was formally abolished in
2002: - Draft
Resolution on the personal data protection rules in instruments under the third
pillar of the European Union (6316/2/01) European Parliament 1. Report
formally adopted on 27 September 2007 European Commission European Data Protection
Supervisor Opinion of European data protection
authorities 1. Conference
of European Data Protection Authorities, Brussels, 24 January
2006 National parliaments UK: House of Commons: The Select Committee
on European Scrutiny has so far discussed the measure on three occasions: 27
July 2006 (link), 11
January 2006 (link) and 16
November 2005 (link) UK: House of Lords: Select Committee on the
European Union: Its report "Behind Closed Doors" covers the proposed Framework
Decision and includes evidence from the European Data Protection Supervisor:
Behind
Closed Doors (pdf) 1. Statewatch analysis (forthcoming,
Thursday 5 October 2006) 1995 Directive on data protection 1. Directive
95/46/ECon the protection and processing of personal data ("first pillar", including immigration) The 18-page analysis is on: http://www.statewatch.org/news/2006/oct/eu-dp.pdf ~~~ Analysis: Biometrics and
surveillance by Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor: |
