From: [log in to unmask][mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, November 02, 2001 2:48 PM
To: "Statewatch mailing list"@unn.ac.uk; "Statewatch mailing
list"@unn.ac.uk
Subject: News from Statewatch
Statewatch News Online, 2 November 2001
See: <http://www.statewatch.org/news>
INTERCEPTION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN THE EU -
UPDATE
- US calls for EU data protection to be ditched
- Council Legal Service says governments already have powers to
combat terrorism
- European Parliament committee re-affirms its report on new
directive
The European Voice newspaper reports that President Bush has
written to Guy Verhofstadt, the Belgian Prime Minister who
currently holds the Presidency of the EU, asking to the proposed
EU directive on privacy and telecommunications being discussed in
the European Parliament and the Council to be changed to allow
for interception for criminal investigations. The US, says the letter,
is against the provision in existing EU law that data can only be
retained for the purposes of checking a customer's bill and for no
other purpose.
A US official is quoted as saying that: "This is not an US-EU
issue, it is more a question of law enforcement versus a strict
interpretation of civil liberties".
The US is adding its voice to those of the EU law enforcement
agencies and the UK government, which have been demanding the
end to the protections given by the 1995 and 1997 EU Directives to
citizens from general surveillance of telecommunications (e-mails,
faxes, phone-calls and internet usage).
STATEWATCH ANALYSES OF POST-11 SEPTEMBER EU
MEASURES AFFECTING CIVIL LIBERTIES AND
ACCOUNTABILITY
Statewatch has completed two analyses of the new measures
being proposed in the EU following 11 September. One covers the
new legislative measures, the other new "operational" measures.
LEGISLATIVE MEASURES MORE CONCERNED WITH LAW
ENFORCEMENT THAN TERRORISM
Of the eleven measures being rushed through in the EU, six were
proposed before 11 September 11 and another four were firmly on
the EU's agenda. The only genuinely new 'anti-terrorist' measure is
the commitment to examine immigration and asylum legislation
"with reference to the terrorist threat", which suggests a general
tightening of controls on all asylum-seekers, immigrants and third-
country nationals entering the EU. The Statewatch report
concludes:
"As it stands, the "anti-terrorism" programme amounts to little more
than the fast-tracking of a raft of law enforcement legislation that
was already on the EU's agenda and goes well beyond the
investigation and prosecution of terrorism."
"ANTI-TERRORISM ROADMAP CREATES INFORMAL AND
UNACCOUNTABLE "OPERATIONAL" GROUPS
Many of the "operational" initiatives concern the creation of ad hoc,
informal, groups, targets and cooperation. There is little or no
mention of accountability to the European parliament or national
parliaments. No mention at all of data protection or to recourse to
courts for individuals who might be affected. Moreover, there is a
real danger that these "temporary" arrangements will become
permanent leaving a whole layer of EU inter-agencies informal
groups, information and intelligence exchanges and operational
practices quite unaccountable.
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT TAKES COUNCIL TO COURT FOR
FAILURE TO CONSULT OVER NEW (NATO) CLASSIFICATION
CODE - THE "SOLANA TWO DECISION"
The European Parliament is taking the Council of the European
Union to the Court of Justice over its failure to consult the
parliament over the adoption of a new classification code for
access to documents in March 2001. The parliament argues that
this was quite inappropriate as the institutions (the parliament,
Council and the European Commission) were in the process of
adopting a new Regulation on public access to documents.
The Secretary-General of the Council, Mr Solana, drew up the new
classification code which was simply nodded through by the
General Affairs Council - the European Parliament was not
consulted. The Decision completely changed the Council's
classification codes to meet NATO demands.
Extensive background and documentation, including the full-text of
the EU/NATO security regulations
NEWS IN BRIEF
Germany: Report on new surveillance laws and statement by
German human-rights organisations.
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