Brussels, 15/05/2008 (Agence Europe) - The EU's new treaty should be seen as providing an opportunity for the EU to prove that it genuinely protects personal data, said European Data Protection Supervisor Peter Hustinx on Wednesday 15 May 2008. “The signing of the Lisbon Treaty is an important benchmark in the history of the EU, but it should also be seen as a challenge. The fundamental safeguards that are highlighted in the treaty have to be delivered in practice. This applies where EU institutions and bodies are processing personal data, but it also applies where they develop rules and policies that may have an impact on the rights and freedoms of European citizens,” explained Hustinx in a press release. When it comes to the role of the EDPS, the report welcomes the significant rise in the number of prior checks on personal data processing by EU bodies and institutions in various domains like medical information, staff recruitment, OLAF activity (the EU's anti-fraud office), social services files and the monitoring of e-communications. In terms of assessing data protection across all EU bodies and institutions, the EDPS feels that the European civil service has to continue its efforts to achieve full respect of data protection rules. The EDPS published 12 opinions on draft EU legislation in 2007.
Google's new map tool, Street View, giving detailed panoramas of around 40 US cities would definitely raise concerns if it were introduced in Europe, said Hustinx. Google cars used for Street View have been seen in streets in Rome, Paris and many other European cities recently. Google is reported to be risking court cases due to the strict application of rules on the use of photos in some European countries. 'Making pictures everywhere is certainly going to create some problems,' Hustinx commented, according to Reuters. He added, however, that he was confident that Google would respect EU rules if it decided to launch its new service in Europe. (B.C.)