Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-09-05-Speech-3-043"
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"en.20010905.2.3-043"2
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". – Mr President, I should like to congratulate Mr Coelho, the chairman, and the honourable Members of this Parliament who participated in the work of the Temporary Committee on Echelon, especially the rapporteur, Mr Schmid, for the comprehensive and well-written report on the Echelon interception system. I should also like to thank Parliament as a whole for this very important debate.
The development in technologies can bring protection against surveillance. It is reassuring that the use of fibre-optic cables instead of satellites for transcontinental communications has decreased the possibilities for large-scale routine interception.
The argument that the rise of the commercial Internet has significantly diminished the possibilities for interception is convincing. Today the majority of Internet communications by cable no longer leave the European continent.
The Commission has taken important steps over the past years to develop a policy to improve the security of electronic communications. Encryption has been mentioned here often. The availability and free circulation of encryption products and technologies in the European Union has now been ensured with the dual-use regulation in place since September 2000. The support, through the Community’s research framework programme, in particular with the information side of technologies programme, has improved the conditions to develop top-of-the-range European encryption products in order to enable EU citizens, companies and governments to protect their communications. I would ask for your support in this context in our discussions on the next framework programme.
However, it is not sufficient to guarantee a widespread use of encryption. Citizens and small businesses are not always aware of the potential effects. We need to inform them about the possibilities of encryption. We need to empower them. In June this year the Commission adopted a communication on network and information security. The purpose is to tackle this awareness problem and to further develop a European approach on security-related issues. I am pleased to note that the conclusions of the report under discussion are very much in line with the approach adopted by the Commission. The honourable Members are aware that there is already a legal framework in place at EU level addressing data protection and obligations for operators. There is also an emerging policy on cybercrime, which will be discussed later today. Network information security is now coming as a third element to complete the picture. However, communication is not meant to contain a fully fledged action plan.
We have already initiated some broad action lines where progress needs to be made. I will highlight some of them. To raise awareness, public information and education campaigns should be launched and best practice should be promoted. A European warning and information system is needed to strengthen the activities of computer emergency response teams – CRTs – or similar entities and improve the coordination amongst them. I have noted Parliament’s support for this idea. Then we need to examine how best to organise at European level proactive and coordinated measures to develop forward-looking responses to existing and emerging security threats like the European information security observatory. Finally concerning the legal framework, we will set up an inventory of national measures which have to be taken in accordance with the relevant Community law. Here I reply to Mrs Plooij-van Gorsel’s question.
I would also like to mention that further action is needed to support the development of technology, to streamline standardisation and certification work, and for the introduction of security in government use and better international cooperation.
As a next step, it is our intention to develop a road map before the end of this year containing concrete actions with firm deadlines in order to start putting a European information security policy in place.
Finally, the Commission is constantly improving the production of its own information systems in terms of availability, integrity and confidentiality, especially in view of the changing nature of the various existing and potential threats. The entry point to the Commission networks is constantly monitored and actively tested. Similar efforts are conducted through projects for secure video conferencing, secure telephone systems and encryption of databases. Furthermore, security audits of Commission information systems are conducted on a regular basis. A new information system security policy has been drafted and is currently being prepared for discussion within the Commission services.
In addition, the Commission is reviewing its overall security policy as a result of internal reorganisation activities and policy developments. The new internal Commission security provisions will follow the model of the Council security regulation adopted earlier this year and will be based on the following principles: proportionality of security measures in relation to existing risks; shared responsibility and accountability of staff, management and security experts; the creation of all elements into a coherent security strategy, such as personal information and physical security; and finally, close cooperation between European and national security organisations.
The Commission intends to allocate additional resources to the security domain. However, scarce technical and human resources, especially in the field of information security specialists, hamper the full deployment of security policies. This concern is common to most public administrations including the European institutions. I welcome the support in the report to allocate more resources for the task to be undertaken and I sincerely hope that Parliament as a budgetary authority will follow the position of the committee.
The Commission has been following the parliamentary work over the past year with great interest. The issue touches on complex technological and political considerations. The report presents a large number of references to the existence of a global interception system. These build up a body of evidence. The Commission stated on 30 March last year: “It is the very nature of intelligence activities that those that are not involved in those activities are not able to confirm nor deny their existence”. Even though the Commission is not involved in intelligence gathering activities, we do not question the findings of the European Parliament. The report by the Echelon Temporary Committee is based on careful and thorough work.
The trust of European citizens and businesses in electronic communications and the well-functioning of information infrastructures has become crucial for economies. Let me reiterate once more that the Commission attaches the utmost importance to respect for human rights and respect of rule of law.
The European Union is founded on respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, based on Article 6 of the Treaty and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. As the guardian of the Treaty, the Commission attaches the utmost importance to the observance of those principles.
The abuse of large-scale communications intelligence is something that can make an individual living in a democratic society feel very uneasy. Privacy is a fundamental right. Any derogation from this right has to be specifically provided for by law, necessary for the achievement of objectives, in the public interest, proportionate and subject to adequate checks and guarantees against any form of abuse.
The Commission is determined to look at the practical implications of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights where, in particular, the protection of communications and personal data will be further enhanced. The Commission has already stated that it considers it would be preferable for the Charter to be integrated into the Treaties for the sake of visibility and legal certainty. At the same time, the Community has to act within the scope of the powers conferred upon it by the Treaty.
The findings of the committee concerning the compatibility of a system of the Echelon type with EU law distinguish between two scenarios. First, the use of such a system purely for intelligence purposes and second, abuse of the system for the purpose of gathering competitive intelligence.
The Commission shares the opinion that the operations envisaged in the first scenario in the interest of state security fall within the scope of title V of the Treaty on European Union, which sets out the framework for the establishment of a common foreign security policy. This lays down no provisions on intelligence activities. Member States remain responsible for the conduct and supervision of intelligence operations, unless the Council decides otherwise. The EU Treaty does not empower the Commission to exercise its prerogatives as guardian of the Treaty in this field.
Maintaining an interception system for the purpose of gathering intelligence, even in the context of a Member State’s defence or national security, is outside the scope of the directives in force on data protection. As to the second scenario, the gathering of competitive intelligence does not come within the scope of a common foreign and security policy. It is not an activity that would be allowed in pursuit of a common foreign and security policy. As far as Community law is concerned, such activity could fall within the scope of data protection directives. This is the case if data gathered by Echelon-type systems is collected or subsequently passed on to commercial undertakings for purposes unrelated to the prevention of criminal offences or state security matters.
We are all aware that electronic communications play an increasingly important role in everyday life. Properly functioning electronic communications infrastructures are crucial for our economies. As was stated in Lisbon, Europe wants to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world. A precondition for this is the need to build trust in electronic communications. This concerns both our citizens and our businesses."@en1
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