Brussels, 12/10/2005 (Agence Europe) - One of the main subjects under discussion in Luxembourg on Wednesday at the Justice and Home Affairs Council was telecommunication data retention as part of the fight against terrorism. The British Presidency remarked that a large number of delegations may accept the proposal for a directive presented by the European Commission (EUROPE 9032), with greater flexibility. The compromise text, which is to be finalised by end December, provides for codecision of the European Parliament in the context of the first pillar. Two vital aspects have still to be stated in the text: the amount of time that data may be held and the person who bears the costs incurred by the companies concerned for retaining data.
Duration of data retention: According to the British Presidency, this should be between six months and two years, depending on the kind of data. Some exemptions may be granted (the duration of data retention is three years in Italy and four in Ireland).
Cost of data retention: After a round-the-table discussion between the delegations of the 25 Member States, the Presidency sees the possibility of allowing States to choose for themselves the mechanism that should allow costs incurred by data retention to be borne.
Informal discussion between the Council and the European Parliament on the proposal for a directive must be continued in coming days. Nonetheless, if negotiations with the European Parliament do not give the desired results, the Presidency will not rule out the possibility of returning to the proposal for a framework decision made by France, Sweden and the United Kingdom in the context of the third intergovernmental pillar (see EUROPE 9045). After having pointed out that it is urgent to make progress on this issue, the British Minister for the Interior, Charles Clarke, who is also President of the JHA Council, said he would prefer an agreement to be concluded on the basis of the first pillar, with the European Parliament. Speaking along the same lines, Commissioner Franco Frattini considers it vital that the three institutions of the European Union should be involved in the project which is aimed at counter-terrorism.