Brussels, 25/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 24 January, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) issued a somewhat favourable opinion on the proposal for a Council decision on access to the VIS database for authorities in charge of internal security and Europol (see EUROPE 9075). The present proposal is likely to be a precursor in the field of granting law enforcement authorities access to large scale information and identification systems. “The VIS database will be the largest cross border one in Europe. Some 20 million new entries per year, regarding people who apply for a Schengen visa, are predicted. It is of the utmost importance that data protection is taken seriously for these, a priori, innocent people”, said Peter Hustinx, EDPS. In general terms, the EDPS welcomes the considerable attention that has been devoted to data protection in the proposal. Access to VIS can only be granted in specific circumstances, on a case by case basis, accompanied by strict safeguards. Me Hustinx stresses too that the “proposal should be further improved”. The EDPS makes certain specific suggestions. He feels that “conditions for access must be read cumulatively” and access should only be granted if it would “substantially” contribute in a specific case. He also considers that “equivalent” data protection must be granted if an authority of a Member State that does not apply the VIS regulation accesses the database. The “purpose of travel” and the “photograph of the visa holder or applicant” should, he says, only be made available as “supplementary information”. Finally, he proposes that “data protection requirements” be supervised in a coordinated way and self-auditing provisions introduced (a security procedure involving concrete measures that will come into play at different stages of the transfer).