Brussels, 14/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - In their questions to the European Commission president during the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg in the afternoon of Tuesday 14 December, MEPs asked José Manuel Barroso for his view on the delicate issue of the freedom of the internet following the publication by WikiLeaks of confidential US diplomatic papers, which have been scathing of several European leaders and diplomats. According to Barroso, these were sensitive documents which should not have been put in the public arena, and he spoke of data protection. He did not wish to comment on the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange by UK authorities or on his possible extradition to Sweden, following the issue of a European arrest warrant. “The European position is clear - it is not for the Commission to comment on the guilt of anyone”, Barroso repeated several times. When asked about data security in cyberspace, he pointed to Commission proposals for achieving a balance between internet freedom and data protection rights. He highlighted the proposal by Margot Wallström on access to documents and the recent proposals by Neelie Kroes to tackle cybercrime. “We are becoming more and more digitally dependent. We must have freedom on the internet but we also have a right to have data protected. We are trying to find a balance,” Barroso said. (I.L./transl.rt)