Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-01-31-Speech-3-123"
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"en.20070131.20.3-123"2
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".
Mr President, the controversy surrounding the transmission of personal and banking data by SWIFT to the US law enforcement authorities and the judgment on the EU/US agreement regarding PNR data have demonstrated the urgent need to draw up a global framework for the transmission and protection of personal data within the context of trans-Atlantic relations.
Europe understands the United States’ increased need for security and we want to enhance our cooperation with our American partners with a view to fighting terrorism effectively. Having said that, it is also essential to deal with the protection of fundamental rights and privacy within the framework of trans-Atlantic dialogue. We are in favour of reaching a new PNR agreement, but it must be respectful of fundamental rights and provide guarantees on the protection of European citizens’ privacy. That is why we want the Commission to communicate to us the details of the proposed mandate for the negotiation of this new agreement. The European Parliament must be fully involved in this process.
Could you also provide us with more information on the work of the high-level working group on the sharing and protection of data? We would also like to know about the priority proposals recently put forward by our American partners.
With regard to SWIFT, the Belgian data protection authorities and the ‘Article 29’ Working Group believe that this transmission represents a violation of the Belgian and European rules on the protection of personal data. So far, no concrete solution has been proposed to put an end to this violation. All of the actors involved agree that it is urgent that a European solution be found, a solution that is respectful of fundamental rights and which companies can implement properly. The European institutions must ensure that the payment system in the European Union, provided by SWIFT, complies with the Community legislation on data protection.
We would therefore ask the Council and the Commission what measures have been taken to resolve this problem. Are there plans to negotiate an international agreement, similar to the PNR agreement? You tell us that the Commission has held a dialogue with the American Treasury department with a view to finding a solution. Can you tell us what solutions have been studied? Furthermore, at our last debate on the same subject, you informed us, Mr Frattini, that a questionnaire would be sent to the Member States in order obtain all possible information on this transfer of information. Have you really received all of the necessary replies and how are you going to follow up on that questionnaire?
Furthermore, in 2006, within the codecision procedure, Parliament adopted its Alvaro report on the regulation stipulating the personal data that must accompany transfers of funds and under what conditions. The transfer to a third country of banking data that does not have a specific link with that country clearly falls outside of the scope of the regulation and may represent a breach of the fundamental principles of data protection.
For the same reason, given that the transfer of the SWIFT data does not just involve data relating to transactions between Europe and the United States, but also data relating to transactions within the European Union, it would appear to be clear that this issue belongs in the first pillar. An agreement pursuant to Articles 24 and 38 of the European Union Treaty would not be an appropriate solution. We cannot accept an agreement to legalise current violations on a case by case basis. SWIFT has no legal obligation to use a mirror site in the United States. Would it not be possible to find a solution in another country in order to move that mirror site to one that contains European data, as the ‘Article 29’ Working Group suggested?
Finally, SWIFT, PNR, and also the Automated Targeting System, ATS, and perhaps in the future telephone data, demonstrate that the exchange of information is intensifying and the urgent need to draw up a common framework for protecting the privacy of European citizens. Do you not believe that the European Union should take a global approach to these issues, in order to establish general principles for the transmission and protection of data with our American partners."@en1
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