Brussels, 01/10/2008 (Agence Europe) - To make progress, European security research must necessarily comply with data protection. This was the starting point for the 3rd European Security Research Conference which brought together almost 1,000 researchers, industrialists and political leaders in Paris on Monday 29 and Tuesday 30 September. Opening the conference European Justice, Security and Freedom Commissioner Jacques Barrot said, “There is very definitely a conflict between intelligence and data protection. It is up to us, as responsible politicians and professionals, to find solutions that are effective, flexible, possible and acceptable to citizens”. This is a view shared by other participants, such as French Minister for Higher Education and Research Valérie Pécresse and European data controller Peter Hustinx (see EUROPE 9750 and 9751). Industrialists themselves are aware of the need to take this into consideration. “Security technologies, in particular biometrics, are often viewed with scepticism by the general public. The people have to be informed about data protection measures before any large-scale roll-out,” an observer said. The EU Coordinator on anti-terrorism, Gilles de Kerchove has called for a debate to be held on the “admissibility” of intrusive technologies. He stressed that, “citizens want security but want their private lives to be respected as much as possible” and added that, “there were protests when we organised access to the visa information system (VIS). There are now protests about the European Passenger Name Records”. According to de Kerchove, “the EU Council is multiplying the collection projects (for personal data), the European Parliament is blocking and may block even more”. He warned that, “a collective strategy is needed, failing which, we are at risk of obtaining technologies we don't use”. (B.C./L.B.S./trans/rt/rh)