Brussels, 08/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - Following the agreement on SWIFT and the transfer of Europeans' banking data to the US, the Safe Harbour agreement on the transfer of European data to major US corporations such as Google and Facebook found itself under scrutiny on Monday evening in the European Parliament, where another hearing was taking place in Strasbourg on US espionage activities. The rapporteur on this committee's enquiry, Claude Moraes (S&D, United Kingdom) even went as far as advocating the suspension of this agreement.
This agreement was signed in 2004 and allows US companies that can prove they are respecting European legislation, to transfer personal data from the EU to the US. However, the PRISM programme, uncovered in June, was largely based on the surveillance of these same major corporations that were involved in the programme unbeknownst to them, they claimed. At the end of July, Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Viviane Reding expressed her doubts regarding the “safe” nature of this agreement and is currently preparing a progress report on it, which could possibly be presented to the European Council at the end of the month. In a press release published on Tuesday morning, Moraes nevertheless, called for the suspension of this agreement, following revelations of further failings in the programme. The experts invited to Strasbourg on Monday evening to represent the European data protection authorities effectively described the “Safe Harbour” agreement as “vulnerable” and “ineffective”. The shortcomings identified focus on dispute resolution mechanisms, transparency and implementation. This agreement was reached in 2004 and according to Moraes it does not include provisions relevant to the Charter of Fundamental Rights or protect Europeans from the implications created by the Patriot Act or FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, on which programmes such as PRISM are effectively based. (SP/transl.fl)