Brussels, 12/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 12 February, the MEPs of the committee on civil liberties of the European Parliament adopted (33 votes to 7, with 17 abstentions) the report by Claude Moraes (S&D, UK) assessing the activities of the American NSA (National Security Agency). These activities were revealed by former consultant Edward Snowden.
This is an “extremely important” vote, said the rapporteur afterwards, as it condemns the practices of mass surveillance and uncontrolled gathering of personal data with no justification, on national security grounds for example. On Wednesday, the MEPs agreed on a series of key points, such as the suspension of the Safe Harbour agreement, which the EPP Group was also calling for. This agreement allowed American businesses to process and transfer the personal data of European citizens. They also called on the Council to speed up its work on the reform proposed by Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding on the protection of personal data. The MEPs want this reform to be wrapped up in 2014. The US should also pick up the pace in order to sign a general framework agreement on data with the EU, also in 2014, the MEPs state.
As for the free-trade negotiations which have started with Washington, these remain of the greatest importance for growth and jobs, but should not concern the issue of data transfer, the MEPs argue.
Informed by some 15 hearings on the subject held since September of last year by the committee, the work of the rapporteur has not, however, yet have the benefit of the statement of the main player in the dossier, Edward Snowden. The appearance of the former CIA consultant behind the scandal has run into a number of obstacles, both in form (the EPP put the brakes on a pre-registered message intervention) and the substance (the ECR was completely opposed to the idea of hearing from somebody who, its members felt, had jeopardised national security in many states). Edward Snowden is indeed expected to speak in the debate before the vote on the Moraes report in March, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. However, the American, who is currently taking refuge in Russia, will not receive protection in Europe, as the Greens/EFA Group called for. The committee on civil liberties of the EP rejected an amendment calling on the EU to grant the young former consultant asylum.
A series of recommendations were put to the MEPs on Wednesday and more than 500 amendments were voted on. The rapporteur proposed setting in place a “European digital habeas corpus”, divided into seven separate actions: adopting the European package on data protection in 2014, concluding an EU-US framework agreement allowing Europeans recourse before American courts against the exploitation of their data, suspending the Safe Harbour agreement, suspending the SWIFT/TFTP anti-terrorist agreement on the transfer of inter-bank data (a request which was rejected), protecting the rule of law and fundamental rights of the citizens of the EU, with particular reference to threats to the freedom of the press and reinforcing protection for whistleblowers, putting together a strategy on the independence of information technologies and, lastly, making the EU a reference for democratic governance and internet neutrality. (SP/transl.fl)