Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2013-06-11-Speech-2-043-000"
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"en.20130611.4.2-043-000"2
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"Madam President, Commissioner, the debate here today is about increasing the trust and faith of citizens in holding to account governments and agencies that serve and protect them. Those companies already named and shamed have so far denied acting outside the law. Governments and the European Commission have expressed concern, we have heard this morning, but rightly acknowledge that it is currently too early to draw final conclusions. Yet here we are, already pointing the finger, with some of you already expressing strong anti-American or anti-Commission rhetoric which is all too familiar, as is the opportunism and grandstanding without pausing to gather facts or proof.
This plenary is no stranger to the practice of convicting a defendant before the trial. This Parliament is currently working hard on reforming its data protection rules and is still pursuing agreement on data exchange with the United States, something which I and my Group support. Key to the success of being able to protect our citizens beyond our own borders is our relationship with other countries. Yet I would caution that often the way in which some Members of this House articulate themselves does little to bring us together on values but instead pushes us further apart.
Protecting citizens from modern threats is a balancing act. Intelligence agencies are often lambasted for not acting soon enough and then equally condemned for going too far. Their successes are celebrated in private but their failings are only too public. Increasingly, as we know, terrorists and organised criminal groups use information and technology against innocent citizens. Therefore there must be an expectation that the same technology will be used in our response. But that information must be used and respected within the confines of democratic principles and legal oversight.
We must understand that we do not gain more freedoms by taking others away and that our greatest asset will always be the rule of law. That is why sometimes it is necessary for us politicians to remind those with less visible power that ensuring freedom and the safety of our citizens must not come at the ultimate price of sacrificing democracy. But it might also be worth some people in this room remembering who the real enemy is and where it is, and that when we deal with allies and when we want answers and the truth, friends listen most when you talk and not when you shout."@en1
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