Brussels, 26/07/2007 (Agence Europe) - The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) supports the Commission's idea of the 1995 directive on data protection being implemented in its entirety before any amendments are mooted. All member states have now transposed the directive (first pillar) but in a report published last March, the Commission highlighted several examples of incoherency in some examples of national legislation, due to incorrect or incomplete transposition of directive provisions. On Wednesday 25 July, Peter Hustinx, speaking on behalf of the EDPS in a press release, declared: “In the short term, specific actions are needed to ensure full implementation of the directive”. Action required includes the efficient use of infringement procedures against member states and the promotion of non-binding instruments. Hustinx explained that once this was “accomplished, and in the longer term, I see that some important issues need to be addressed, also in view of the reform treaty”. He affirmed that the Commission was expected to examine solutions that took into account personal data processing in the fight against crime and terrorism, as well as those used in a commercial context (Swift affair) and data processing outside the EU (PNR dossier). The future treaty will have an enormous impact on the data protection of European citizens. It will include personal data protection as contained in Article 8 of the Charter on Fundamental Rights, according to which, “everyone has the right to personal data protection”. It will also set up a specific legal and autonomous basis for enabling the Union to introduce legislation on the matter and pave the way towards adoption of instruments that can be applied in all areas. The current division into “pillars” will therefore no longer be the subject of debates. A draft framework decision on data protection in the area of legal and police cooperation (third pillar) is still on the Council table, but there is still the possibility of a compromise being found. (bc)