Friday

24th Mar 2023

EU commission 'stood firm' on US data privacy

  • US flag on display in European Parliament building in Brussels (Photo: europarl.europa.eu)

The European Commission says it "stood firm" in the face of pressure from the US when drafting its overhaul of the bloc's data protection regime.

Mina Andreeva, spokesperson for EU justice commissioner Viviane Reding, Thursday (13 June) said that the EU executive arm had faced down "intense US lobbying."

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

She added that the commission proposal had included provisions "making it absolutely clear that US companies would have to abide by EU rules whenever they offer their goods and services to European citizens" while any requests by the US to access the data of an EU citizen would "be channeled through existing legal frameworks."

However, Sophie In't Veld, a Dutch Liberal MEP and data expert, said she was "surprised" by the commission's statement

"It was very clear that the article on data transfer had been taken out because the US mission had been involved in the drafting," she told this website.

"The US mission were very open about their lobbying efforts," she added.

A draft of the data protection regulation, sent by Reding to the other EU commissioners in November 2011, contained provisions in Article 42 that would make it a condition for the disclosure of user data to authorities in third countries to have a legal foundation, such as a mutual legal assistance agreement and an authorisation by the competent data protection authority.

However, the Article disappeared from the final proposal, after strong lobbying from the US administration.

The proposals, which were tabled in January 2012, are now in the hands of MEPs and ministers who expect to reach agreement on the rules before the end of 2013.

The commission has come under pressure this week to show that it will not allow Washington to abuse its 'special relationship' with Europe by ignoring its rules on data privacy.

Documents disclosed to the Guardian newspaper by 29-year-old Edward Snowden, a former CIA worker, revealed that the US National Security Authority (NSA) had been snooping on Europeans.

In a letter sent on Monday evening (10 June) to Eric Holder, the US attorney general, commissioner Reding demanded "explanations and clarifications" on whether the controversial PRISM surveillance programme, as well as any other US data collection and surveillance programmes, had also been targeted at Europeans.

The letter questioned whether the scope of US data collection was restricted to national security or foreign intelligence, how the data was collected, and whether businesses in the EU or US were able to challenge access to data.

"PRISM and the laws on the basis of which such programmes are authorised could have grave adverse consequences for the fundamental rights of EU citizens," Reding said.

Reding warned that she expected "swift and concrete answers" when the two sides speak on Friday (13 June) at a meeting of EU and US justice officials.

EU breaks silence on US snooping scandal

A junior EU official on Tuesday urged the US not to abuse its "special relationship" with Europe, in Brussels' first reaction to the NSA snooping scandal.

Exclusive

Sweden waters down EU press-freedom law

Press-freedom groups from Paris to New York have voiced dismay at Sweden's proposal to weaken a landmark EU law against corporate and political bullies.

Top EU prosecutor wants elite corps of specialised investigators

Europe's top prosecutor Laura Kovesi wants to create an elite corps of highly-specialised financial fraud investigators. The demand came in Kovesi's introduction to the annual report published by the Luxembourg-based European Public Prosector's Office.

Opinion

Why can't we stop marches glorifying Nazism on EU streets?

Every year, neo-Nazis come together to pay tribute to Nazi war criminals and their collaborators, from Benito Mussolini to Rudolf Hess, Ante Pavelić, Hristo Lukov, and of course Adolf Hitler, in events that have become rituals on the extreme-right calendar.

Latest News

  1. EU's new critical raw materials act could be a recipe for conflict
  2. Okay, alright, AI might be useful after all
  3. Von der Leyen pledges to help return Ukrainian children
  4. EU leaders agree 1m artillery shells for Ukraine
  5. Polish abortion rights activist vows to appeal case
  6. How German business interests have shaped EU climate agenda
  7. The EU-Turkey migration deal is dead on arrival at this summit
  8. Sweden worried by EU visa-free deal with Venezuela

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality
  5. Promote UkraineInvitation to the National Demonstration in solidarity with Ukraine on 25.02.2023
  6. Azerbaijan Embassy9th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and 1st Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us