Riga, 30/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - Latvian Justice Minister Dzintars Rasnacs and Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova are hopeful that overall agreement can be reached in June on the reform of European rules on the protection of personal data, they said at the informal meeting in Riga on Friday 30 January.
However, for this to be so, a number of obstacles will have to be overcome. First and foremost are the difficulties faced by the Commission on the way selected by the Council with regard to the directive on the handling of personal data as part of police and judicial cooperation (directive accompanying a general regulation). The Commission has said it is against the Presidency proposal to “renationalise” within the scope of the directive, which specifically covers crimes committed, all parts of the general regulation that make provision for “derogations” for reasons of public order or to ensure detection and prevention of criminal offences. The commissioner fears that the journey of the regulation towards a directive that gives the member states greater latitude might result in a lowering of the level of protection of data in public order-related situations. She repeated her opposition to this approach by ministers. Jourova felt, nevertheless, that a solution could be found between now and the month of June.
The European Parliament and some member states are also believed to be somewhat reticent about this “drift”, a source said. The one-stop shop mechanism, which was not discussed in Riga on Friday, is the cause of divisions between the Commission and the member states. The Latvian Presidency hopes to make progress on new chapters in March, leading to some partial agreements before coming to a general approach in June that could pave the way to the opening of trialogue negotiations with the Parliament. French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira said she was optimistic that agreement can be reached during the Latvian presidency “or at worst under the Luxembourg Presidency”. (SP)