Brussels, 29/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - The anti-terrorism policy of the European Union must do all in its power to avoid infringing the privacy of European citizens, says European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) Peter Hustinx in a new report which was published on 24 November. “When considering new measures, unnecessary restrictions to citizens' privacy must be avoided”, said Hustinx, presenting his opinion on the communication of the European Commission on the anti-terrorist policy of the EU. He believes that this communication has clear links to other existing initiatives, such as restrictive measures and the freezing of assets, holding data, biometrics, data on airline passengers and the TFTP/SWIFT agreement on the exchange of financial data. Against this backdrop, he stresses that many of these measures were taken quickly in response to terrorist incidents, without an in-depth examination into any overlaps with existing instruments. He believes that a systematic approach paying attention to the fundamental rights and data protection is preferable to reactive decision-making based around these incidents, particularly when they lead to the creation of new systems for the storage, collection and exchange of data, without first carrying out an appropriate assessment of existing solutions. The EDPS also recommends concrete improvements in areas such as: asset freezing measures, international cooperation and “privacy by design”. Lastly, he calls upon the Commission to present a proposal to create a data protection framework in the field of common foreign and security policy. (B.C./transl.fl)