Brussels, 26/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament, who followed its rapporteur Jorge Salvador Hernandez Mollar (elected member of Partido Popular), amended in the aim of strengthening the protection of personal data, the Council decision proposed on Portugal's initiative (yet another example of an initiative by a Member State in the "third pillar") to create a secretariat for joint control authorities responsible for data protection. These authorities were established by the Europol Convention, the Convention on the use of information technology in the customs fields and by the Convention on implementation of the Schengen Agreement. On the occasion of this single consultation in one reading, the Parliament amended the proposal by stressing that the protection of natural persons in the processing of personal data should "in the medium term" result in enforcing "common protection standards" and in the creation of a "single supervisory body" to guarantee this protection. The Parliament also calls for the financial independence of the future secretariat to be guaranteed.
In his report, Mr Hernandez Mollar notes that not only the Europol Convention of 26 July 1995 but also the Convention for the application of the Schengen Agreement of 19 June 1990 and the Convention on the use of information technology for customs purposes of 26 July 1995 (which has not yet come into force) provided for control bodies to protect data at a national level, and joint supervisory authorities at Community level. This means that, in addition to national controls, there are three joint control authorities in the EU, each of which has its own secretariat, notes the rapporteur, considering this situation "is open to serious criticism". He doubts that such a system could guarantee the "inalienable right to privacy which all individuals should enjoy with regard to the automatic use of personal data concerning them". The proposal to create a single secretariat for the three joint control bodies is a "timid, if positive, step". In time, there should be a single supervisory body with legal personality, together with its own budget and staff, that would go beyond the "pillar" structure. Mr Hernandez Mollar believes this should, at the end of the day, be the Parliament, which would appoint the single supervisory authority and would undertake the formalities needed for its dismissal. This, in the short term, is "unrealistic", but they are "essential objectives which must be attained". The rapporteur also felt a binding legal instrument was required to ensure, under the third pillar, that there is a level of guarantee equivalent to that in the first pillar under the 1995 directive.
The rapporteur's position was largely backed during the debate, with some slight differences: thus, German Green member Ilka Schröder, although welcoming any initiative aimed at strengthening data protection, asked why a single authority would guarantee better protection.
European Commissioner Antonio Vitorino agreed with the idea of setting a single supervisory body in place, a "single entity to ensure coherence in the application of principles" which must govern the protection of personal data. We are pleased to note that the work of the Council's group of specialists is making headway and that the French presidency has included these matters among its priorities", said Mr Vitorino. The future secretariat must be independent of the Council, which means that it will be necessary for it to have its own budgetary line, even though this may not be possible in the immediate future, added Antonio Vitorino.