Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-12-13-Speech-2-206"
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"en.20051213.55.2-206"2
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".
Mr President, I wish to begin by associating myself very strongly with the sentiments expressed today by my friend, Commission Vice-President Frattini.
On periods of retention, the proposed period in the compromise, six to twenty-four months, represents a compromise between those in the Council, who wanted a much longer maximum period – and there are some in the Council who did not believe in principle that we should legislate on this basis at all – and those in the Parliament, who would have been happier with a shorter retention period. I believe the compromise will enable law enforcement authorities to obtain the data they need without disproportionately infringing privacy rights.
The Presidency took account of concerns expressed by Member States and industry and by some in Parliament about costs, particularly those incurred by storing types of data such as unanswered calls. That is why the list of data in the directive has been restricted and why unconnected call data is outside the scope altogether. It is also one reason why I supported the commitment, given by the Commission and Council, to regularly review the effectiveness of the application of the directive together with the European Parliament, the European Data Protection Supervisor and representatives of industry. This is a fast-moving picture and it is important that all the institutions work together to keep us up to date on the best way to deal with it.
As I mentioned, the Council also took very seriously the concerns expressed in Parliament about data protection and security. That is why the amendments include articles on data protection, data access and sanctions in the event of data abuse. I agree entirely with the representations made by the Parliament that data must be kept safe and secure and can only be disclosed lawfully to people lawfully entitled to see it. There should not be overall access.
I know this has been a difficult negotiation and the subject matter is technical and complex. I welcome, therefore, the requirement that the Commission must fully evaluate the application of the directive and its impact on industry and consumers.
Our right to privacy, our right to property, our right to free speech and our right to life are all threatened by terrorists and criminals. I believe that, particularly in this democracy, democratic politicians have a duty and responsibility to protect these rights through the kinds of practical measures we are agreeing here. I hope we can say at the end of this debate that we have achieved that.
I believe the Commission’s proposal, as amended by the Council and with the support of Parliament, would secure an instrument which strikes a better balance between the need to retain data to protect our citizens and the need to protect and respect individuals’ privacy.
We are embracing new technologies that offer great opportunities for learning, for doing business, for communicating. But those same technologies can be used and misused by those who do not respect the rights of others, and by their victims too. It is right, therefore, that we do all we can to deliver justice and to protect citizens. It is what they, our electors, demand of us and it is why we must act, proportionately and democratically, of course, but hopefully with unity.
I am pleased that tomorrow Parliament as a whole has its chance to express its view on the proposal for a directive. The Commission, in Mr Frattini’s excellent contribution, has already indicated its support. The Council gives its support. If you, the Parliament, also give your support, we can celebrate an historic achievement, which will send a powerful message to all European Union citizens about both our determination and our ability to combat terrorism and serious crime and the importance of the European Parliament in that fight. I believe the message that would send would be important in its own right, but it will also be important for the future arrangements within the European Union as to how we develop these questions in a positive and constructive way.
I conclude by again thanking all my colleagues in Parliament, many of whom are in the Chamber now, for the very friendly, positive, thoughtful and constructive approach they have taken in trying to debate these matters. I believe that your wisdom can take us to a new frontier of fighting crime, criminality and terrorism for the European Union as a whole.
I believe there has been very substantial and constructive work, both between the Council and the Commission and between the Council and Parliament. I particularly want to express my appreciation to Mr Cavada and everybody in the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, including Mr Alvaro, and the leaders of the groups for the way we have worked to discuss these questions.
As we come to the end of the UK Presidency, I am very happy to have the opportunity to participate in this debate. It has been one of the most important items on our agenda and I hope that we can agree that these proposals represent a chance for all three institutions of Europe, Parliament, the Commission and the Council, to stand united in the face of terrorism and organised crime and to send a message that we are determined to work together to achieve these things.
I am proud of what has been achieved in this Presidency. We have agreed a European Union counter-terrorism strategy. We have taken steps to improve the exchange of information for law enforcement. We have adopted a strategy to address radicalisation and terrorist recruitment. We have established a European Union programme to protect critical infrastructure against terrible attacks. We have established a peer evaluation of counter-terrorism practice and development. We have adopted a money-laundering directive. We have agreed proposals to enhance the sharing of information between law enforcement agencies and we have developed a European plan of action to tackle human trafficking. In that context, let me draw attention to the fact that we have also placed the issues of migration much higher up the European Union agenda. This is a very substantial range of achievements. But I personally attach the greatest importance to the one we are debating today: the aim to achieve common standards for retention of telecommunications data.
As Mr Frattini said, this has been a frank debate – with everybody ready to participate in discussion – but also a difficult debate, because the issues of principle and the technical issues have not been at all easy to resolve. My own commitment has been to listen as widely as possible to the views expressed within Parliament and to discuss with my colleagues in the Council how we can work together. To be candid, there was some scepticism in the Council at the idea of going down the course of a first-reading deal and a process of this kind. People were not certain that it would be possible to get an agreement.
That is why today is so important. To make the statement that the European Parliament in particular, not just the Council and Commission, commits to proposals in this area seems to me very important.
The tools we are talking about, the telecommunications data we are describing, are vital to investigate and detect terrorism and crime. It is essential, in my view, to provide a proportionate and balanced legal basis for the retention of data that would otherwise be erased or anonymised. Variations in data retention practice mean that the ability of investigators and prosecutors to detect and prosecute criminals and terrorists to stop them causing harm, or to catch them after they have caused harm, is dependent on which communications service provider a suspect, a victim or witness has used or which Member State they were in. That variation gives an open goal to our opponents in criminality, and it is that we are trying to close with this directive, which I hope we will adopt today.
We have many examples, some of which I gave to the Civil Liberties Committee in September 2005, where communications data has been used to trace the members of terrorist cells, to help identify murderers and free kidnap victims and to deal with those who organise very serious crime.
The position of the Council, supported by the Commission, aims to find a compromise between Parliament and the Council, in particular, the need to balance law enforcement needs with individuals’ right to privacy by including specific rules on data protection. As amended, the directive would oblige Member States to ensure the retention of data for the investigation, detection and prosecution of serious crime only. This was a call that came specifically from the European Parliament. Many told us that we had to ensure that this was limited to serious crime at Community level. We have responded to that point in what is being put forward, which the Council accepted."@en1
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