“Shame On You” – EU Parliament Pressured On Vote Over Surveillance

By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch

On the eve of European Parliament’s final decision on consequences from revelations of mass surveillance directed against citizens, several members of the Parliament heavily criticised EU governments for the lack of action.

The Council of Ministers, meanwhile, had not even put the issue on its agenda. “Shame on you,” Liberal Party member Sophie In’t Veld said in the direction of member states in the plenary debate in Strasbourg today.

Europe is even falling behind the United States, where a hearing was held today over the spying on US Congress members. Green Party member Jan-Philip Albrecht called massive breach of fundamental rights and the silence of EU governments about it “scandalous”.

The Parliament NSA inquiry report to be voted on tomorrow includes several measures of considerable consequence, including a re-negotiation of the Safe Harbour Agreement, the agreement currently in place for data flows.

Other agreements to be considered according to the proposals are the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program, and, according to Green Party members, also the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which is being negotiated again this week in Brussels (fourth negotiating round).

But while even members of the conservative European People’s Party (EPP) support a stop to Safe Harbour, the EU Parliament is heavily divided over the issue of protection for Edward Snowden, with the Green and Left Party asking for asylum or “safe harbour” against EPP members.

The steps resulting from the inquiry are topped by a EU “digital habeas corpus” or “digital independence” strategy and the fast adoption of the EU data protection reform, which is also expected to be passed during the plenary tomorrow. A fast adoption by the new data protection package has been blocked by a slow pace of the Council of member states, evoking more criticism by MEPs during their debate today.