Brussels, 20/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 17 January, the European Union welcomed the proposals for a reform of the surveillance systems presented on the same day by US President Barack Obama, but is now waiting for him to match actions to words.
In a speech on the telephone tapping scandal carried out across the world by the National Security Agency (NSA), Obama pledged that the American information agencies would no longer listen in to the communications of the leaders of US allies, other than in the event of a serious threat. “I've made clear to the intelligence community that, unless there is a compelling national security purpose, we will not monitor the communications of heads of state and government of our close friends and allies”, he said.
“And I have instructed my national security team, as well as the intelligence community, to work with foreign counterparts to deepen our coordination and cooperation in ways that rebuild trust”, the American President said. Following the initial revelations of the PRISM programme (access by the NSA to data processed by American IT giants), the press revealed in October that the NSA had also listened in to Chancellor Angela Merkel, causing a mini diplomatic clash between Berlin and Washington.
But beyond these guarantees to the Allied leaders, the American President declined to put an end to the activities of these intelligence agencies. “We will not apologise simply because our services may be more effective”, Obama said. And the American services will also be able to continue to “gather information about the intentions of governments (…) around the world in the same way that (…) every other nation does"”, he added.
He did, however, promise more transparency in the activities of the NSA. “Without proper safeguards”, the risks to privacy were genuine, he admitted. He also acknowledged that this surveillance programme had never been the subject of a proper public debate. Under the proposals announced, the intelligence agency will still be able to gather telephone metadata (for example the number called, the length of the call, the time of the call etc), but the state will no longer store these data. Obama described these metadata as a vital weapon in the fight against terrorism, and said that there is a need to “establish a mechanism that preserves the capabilities we need without the government holding this bulk metadata”. The president has asked Justice Minister Eric Holder to report back to him on “a new approach” on preserving the capabilities of the programme “without the government holding this metadata itself”.
As for the Europeans, the president said that he would extend “certain protections that we have for American people to people overseas”. However, he did not specify whether this would entail allowing Europeans the right to bring actions before the American courts, which is one of the main demands of the European Commission. The president simply explained that these protections would relate to the duration and reason for the storage of their personal data. The White House has also pledged to make more use of mutual legal assistance treaties in order to share useful information gathered by the United States with allied governments. And telecommunications providers will be able to divulge more information on the cases on which the NSA obliges them to provide it with data.
These proposals have been welcomed by the European Commission and Commissioner Viviane Reding, who described them as “a step in the right direction” and welcomed the fact that Europeans will be able to benefit from certain protections. However, the Luxembourg commissioner added, efforts must be continued and “I look forward to seeing these commitments followed by concrete legislative proposals”.
On Monday 20 January, a Commission spokesperson said that certain “questions remained open” and needed to be dealt with in greater detail. These questions relate, amongst other things, to improvements to the Safe Harbour agreement and the swift conclusion of a transatlantic framework agreement on data protection, which would in particular guarantee Europeans the right to assert their rights before American courts.
The rapporteur of the European Parliament on phone tapping, Claude Moraes (S&D, UK), said that although “substantial”, Obama's speech may not be enough to restore confidence fully. The American president may visit Brussels to discuss this sensitive dossier, according to the news agency AFP, specifically on 26 March at an EU-US summit. (SP/transl.fl)