Brussels, 21/09/2005 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the European Commission presented its proposal for a directive on the retention of communications traffic data. The proposal contrasts with the framework decision submitted over one year ago by four Member States and which was discussed in the JHA Council during its last meetings (EUROPE 9023 and 9024).
As in the Council text, the aim of the proposal for a directive is to be able to trace who has made a communication, when and from where. Neither of the two texts provides for retention of the content of communications. The essential difference between the two proposals concerns the duration of retention and compensation for the additional costs incurred for industry, but there are also differences on the complete list of data to be conserved. The European Commission and the Parliament trust that the text finally adopted will be a directive, approved in co-decision by the Council and the European Parliament, and not a framework decision, adopted solely by the Member States, by unanimity.
The Council's work on the framework decision has now reached the stage of an agreement of principle whereby data should be retained for twelve months but allowing, by special dispensation, for this duration to be reduced to six months or increased to 48 months. The European Commission does not wish for exemptions to be allowed and suggests fixed twelve-month retention periods for telephone communications and six month periods for electronic communications via IP. Another difference is that the European Commission suggests Member States should be compelled to reimburse the operators for costs entailed for data retention, while the Council is for now looking at a solution that leaves each Member State free to take its own decision on this sensitive issue.
More specifically, according to the proposal discussed in Council and that of the European Commission, communications in the form of fixed and mobile calls would be recorded, as well as SMS, MMS and other messages via mobile phones, e-mails, and online telephoning. Above all, operators would have to record the date and the time of the beginning and the end of the communication, the number from which the call is made, and that which it is calling (whether the call is unanswered or not), the IP address allocated to the telephone communication by Internet, etc.
During the informal Council in Newcastle on 9 and 10 September, the Member States gave their conditional agreement for adopting the text via codecision procedure, although they had hitherto been against it. All will depend on how cooperation will take place between the three institutions by the end of the year, the date foreseen for adopting the decision. The rapporteur of the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights at the European Parliament, German Liberal Alexander Alvaro, was somewhat reticent about data retention. The European Parliament, which is very keen to take part in the adoption of the decision which it considers to be a right rather than a concession made by Council, will seek, however, to set a strict timetable so that the text may be adopted in codecision by the end of the year. According to a provisional timetable, if the negotiation between the Council and Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights goes well, the European Parliament may be able to adopt its amendments on 15 December, which would allow the Council, if it agrees with these amendments, to adopt the directive rapidly. The agenda of the Justice and Home Affairs Council of 12 and 13 October provides for debates to be continued on the proposal for a framework decision, and upon presentation by Commissioner Frattini of the proposal for a directive. At the informal meeting in Newcastle, Commissioner Frattini had promised to establish a strict timetable with the Presidency to allow codecision procedure to be followed up.
With the presentation of the proposal for a directive on Wednesday, Commissioner Frattini stressed the importance of participation by the three European institutions in developing legislation on data retention. He stressed the need to record calls that do not get through also. Although, as Community sources say, it was stressed that adoption of the draft directive had been delayed by the fact that it was difficult to reach an agreement between the services of the DG Justice and the DG Information Society, which is concerned about the cost entailed for industry and business, Franco Frattini thanked Commissioner Viviane Reding for her “close cooperation”.