The Renew Europe group in the European Parliament took a stand on Tuesday 21 April in favour of a “common European approach” to the development of digital applications capable of alerting Europeans to their potential contact with people with COVID-19.
“A common European approach - in the form of a single application or seamless interoperability between different national versions and European standards for software, technical features, and privacy guarantees - is the only solution to return to a more normal life”, the 22 MEPs of the Renew Europe group who signed the agreement say in a letter to the Member States.
The MEPs call on the Twenty-Seven to make use of the European Commission’s expertise and proposed coordination in developing national applications (see EUROPE 12468/5). At the heart of the concerns raised: compliance with data protection rules.
If criteria such as privacy protection, as well as technology “transparency” and “interoperability”, are met, digital applications can be useful, as they will “make life easier for the working population” and promote “more effective testing” by focusing on those who are at greatest risk, Adrian Vázquez Lázara, chair of Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs, told EUROPE.
He stressed “common standards for data management” collected at least nationally, based on the opinions of epidemiologists for whom the applications will be effective if “at least 60 to 70%” of a state’s citizens download them voluntarily. In particular, he advocated Bluetooth technology, which “doesn't need to know who you are”.
See the letter from the Renew Europe group: https://bit.ly/2ywjasp
The EPP group coordinator for the Committee on Legal Affairs, Axel Voss of Germany, went even further. In his view, the European Union should not just lay down broad principles, but should recommend the use of a single application for the whole of Europe.
“Europe must take matters into its own hands”, the MEP said, also recommending a common assessment of the collected data at the European level. “This would greatly simplify the analysis of national measures taken in the fight against the virus and enable common exit strategies for the whole EU. This is the only way we can act in solidarity and reopen our borders as soon as possible”, he concluded in a statement.
When questioned, the Commission indicated that the development of national applications in line with European guidelines was “the fastest option”.
On Monday, before the French Senate, the European Commissioner for Industry, Thierry Breton, defended a European technology solution for tracking the pandemic. According to him, the applications should be developed in Europe and not by Apple and Google, who are working together to ensure that their respective mobile phone operating systems communicate via Bluetooth (see EUROPE 12468/5).
“The two Bluetooth devices must be able to talk to each other, that’s all we ask of them “, he said, as reported by AFP. He said the two US giants should not develop their own applications, in response to rumours that Google and Apple are trying to keep control of the data by imposing ‘turnkey’ applications. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion and Sophie Petitjean)