EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT WILL VOTE IN JULY ON INQUIRY COMMITTEE ON ECHELON
Internal wrangling about procedural mistakes and rumours about British attempts to block inquiry.
After a week of internal wrangling in the European Parliament, parliament's
president Nicole Fontaine assured that the decision on an inquiry committee on
the Echelon spying system will be taken by the plenary session of the European
Parliament. The decision will however not be taken this week, as the Greens
demanded, but in july.
The Greens accused last week the big political parties of the European
Parliament of obstructing the inquiry. The major political parties first
rejected the wish to install an inquiry committee and favoured a weaker
temporary committee. Then, they asked the parliaments legal service opinion on
the mandate for such a committee. The legal service declared last week a
temporary committee cannot lead an inquiry. The Conference of Presidents
(which unites the leaders of the political groups in Parliament) was unable to
decide last week on how to proceed the investigation.
The Greens accused the major political parties of obstruction and asked for a
plenary vote this week on the issue. The leader of the Socialist Group, Enrique
Baron Crespo, sought to dismiss the Greens proposal on procedural grounds, arguing that at this late stage it could
not be added to the parliaments agenda. The rumour is British officials were
pressuring Nicole Fountaine and the big political parties to block any probe into the
operation of Echelon. But now Fontaine has made it clear the parliaments plenary
will vote on the issue in july. The Greens will repeat their demand for a
fully-fledged inquiry committee on Echelon. Paul Lannoye, president of the Green
Group said:
'The decision of the Parliament's Presidency sets an important precedence. By
having a vote in plenary, the wishes of 180 signatories of all political groups
to have an inquiry committee is treated with democratic respect.'
[Source: Jelle van Buuren. Verlag Heinz Heise, Hannover. 15jun00 ]
GREENS: EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT IS OBSTRUCTING INQUIRY ON ECHELON.
Legal service of Europan Parlimant says a temporary committee cannot lead an inquiry.
The Greens in the European Parliament are accusing the big political parties in
Parliament of obstructing the inquiry on Echelon. Yesterday, the Conference of
Presidents (which unites the leaders of the political groups in Parliament) has
been unable to decide how to proceed on how to investigate into the Echelon spying system.
The Greens asked for a inquiry committee on Echelon, which has more powers to
conduct an investigation. This proposal was first rejected by the major
political groups in Parliament. Instead, they proposed a much weaker temporary
committee. After that, they asked the parliament's legal service opinion on the
mandate for such a committee. Green member Heidi Hautala qualifies this as an
attempt to 'gain more time'.
The opinion of the legal service, which came out this week, states a temporary
committee cannot lead an inquiry. According to the Greens, this was to be
expected. They think the major political groups in Parliament are obstructing a
serious inquiry into Echelon. The Greens now reiterate the demand that European
Parliament establishes an inquiry committee. They reject the view that it is
upon the Conference of Presidents to decide on such a matter and wants the case
submitted to a vote in the plenary.
[Source: Jelle van Buuren. Verlag Heinz Heise, Hannover. 09jun00]
EUROPEAN COMMISSION PREPARES NEW DIRECTIVE ON E-MAIL INTERCEPTION.
The European Commission is preparing new legislation setting out the conditions
under which telecoms operators must allow law enforcement agencies to intercept
e-mail messages. The proposals, which will have to be agreed by the European
Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers, will also lay down obligations for
the prevention of "spam" mail, including all anonymous and unsolicited messages.
The proposed directive, part of wider measures to combat Internet crime, will
extend the existing EU data privacy directive into e-mail and other Internet
applications, and will acknowledge that interception can be justified in
criminal investigations and in the defence of national security. "But under no
circumstances may it be used for commercial espionage," said a spokesman for
Erkki Liikanen, EU Commissioner for the information society.
The ban on anonymous e-mail, also considered an anti-crime measure, has already
been recommended by a committee of the European Parliament.
Commission officials believe the language of the revised directive could be
enough to head off further protests from Euro MPs about the U.K.'s involvement
in the U.S. Echelon espionage network. U.S. officials have admitted that Echelon
has intercepted messages sent by European companies, but says this has only
happened where sanction-busting or corruption were suspected. The U.K. says it
co-operates with other countries' intelligence services in the interests of national security.
The revised EU directive is due to be adopted formally by the Commission on June 27th.
The Commission is also working on proposals for tighter co-operation between EU
law enforcement agencies to combat cyber-crime. These include plans for
specialized training in the detection of Internet crime and a programme to alert
the telecoms industry and its customers.
And on June 13th the EU council of ministers will adopt a new regulatory
framework covering encryption. This will include regulation to liberalize
exports, both within and outside the European Union, of encryption products.
"This will enhance the security of the Internet, because industry will get a
bigger platform, in terms of market size, on which it can develop products,"
said the Commission spokesman. "Users will find it easier to get hold of such
products and so be in a better position to protect themselves and their electronic transmissions."
Meanwhile, the long-standing dispute between the EU and the United States over
application of the EU's data protection directive appears to have been settled.
The directive prohibits transmission of personal data to countries that lack
adequate safeguards against misuse of the information, and according to the EU
this had included the U.S.
But now a working committee of the EU Council has endorsed an agreement based on
the U.S. accepting a number of "safe harbor" principles. In effect, this means
information may be passed on "only with the explicit permission of the person
identified by that data."
This will not be legally enforceable on U.S. companies, but Council officials
are said to be satisfied with assurances from the Clinton administration that
Washington will act if it appears that self-regulation is being abused.
The agreement will have to be approved by the EU institutions, but Commission
officials expect no problems.
[Source: Total Telecom - By Alan Osborn - 06jun00]
EU JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS COUNCIL ASKS FOR MEASURES TO PREVENT ABUSE OF INTERCEPTION OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS.
Council Conclusions:
The Council had an exchange of views on the European Parliament's debates on
interception of telecommunications outside of any legal framework.
The Council reaffirms its attachment to respect for the fundamental principles
relating to the protection of human rights and personal freedoms, both for
natural and legal persons, as recognised by the Treaty on European Union.
While telecommunications interception may be an important tool in combating
crime or for the defence of national security, in no case may it be used to gain
commercial advantage.
The Council has noted that the Commission intends shortly to bring forward
appropriate measures for achieving a more secure information society.
The Council asks the Presidency to see to it that the relevant Council working
parties ensure compliance with the above principles and that they encourage, in
particular, any preventive measure which may protect against the abuse of new technologies.
[Source: Press Release - Justice and Home Affairs Council - Council of the European Union - Brussels - Nr: 3050/00 - 29may00]
EUROPEAN JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS COUNCIL CONSIDERS PREVENTIVE MEASURES AGAINST ECHELON.
The European Council on Justice and Home Affairs discussed yesterday [29may00]
during lunch Echelon, the Anglo-American spying network that according to
reports of the European Parliament is being used to intercept sensitive
economical and political communication.
Although the European ministers of Justice said hard proof is failing for the
accusations, they are worried about the possible misuse of electronic spionage.
'While telecommunication interception may be an important tool in combatting
crime or for the defence of national security, in no case may it be used to gain
commercial advantage,' according to the Council.
The ministers decided to install a technical working group, which has to
investigate if 'technical measures', like strong encryption, are possible to
prevent the misuse of intercepted material. The Council hailed the initiative of
the European Commission to bring forward appropriate measures for 'achieving a
more secure information society'. Further, it instructed Council working parties
to encourage 'preventive measures which may protect against the abuse of new technologies.'
Dutch minister of Justice Benk Korthals said to the Dutch press there was no
real proof of spying, but it was better to take preventive measures. He asked
for further studies on the possibility to make international rules regarding the
interception of telecommunications. Also, he warned for the possibility
organised crime would get the technical possibilities to intercept satellite communications.
[Source: Jelle van Buuren - Verlag Heinz Heise - Hannover - 30may00]
FIRST DRAFT OF INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ON CYBER-CRIME RELEASED FOR PUBLIC DISCUSSION.
STRASBOURG, 27.04.2000 - The COUNCIL OF EUROPE today released a draft version of
a Convention on crime in cyberspace for public discussion in order to enhance
the consultation process with interested parties, whether public or private.
Businesses and associations are particularly encouraged to share their comments
with the experts involved in the negotiations before the final adoption of the text.
Provisionally entitled "Draft Convention on Cyber-Crime", this Council of Europe
text will be the first international treaty to address criminal law and
procedural aspects of various types of offending behaviour directed against
computer systems, networks or data as well as other similar abuses.
This legally-binding text aims to harmonise national legislation in this field,
facilitate investigations and allow efficient levels of co-operation between the
authorities of different States.
The text should be finalised by a group of experts by December 2000 and the
Committee of Ministers could adopt the text and open it for signature as early
as Autumn 2001.
The text of the draft Convention can be found on the following website:
http://conventions.coe.int/treaty/en/projets/cybercrime.htm
More information for editors :
Recent attacks against commercial web-sites, such as Amazon.com, drew international attention to the dangers that the Internet and other
computer networks need to face: cyber-criminals and cyber-terrorists threaten business
and government interests and may cause colossal damages. Time has come for the
Council of Europe to take action, which today released a draft Convention to
deal with crime in cyberspace. This document, provisionally entitled
“Draft Convention on Cyber-crime”, will be the first ever
international treaty to address criminal law and procedural aspects of various
types of criminal behaviour directed against computer systems, networks or data
and other types of similar misuse.
The draft provides, among others, for the co-ordinated criminalisation of
computer hacking and hacking devices, illegal interception of data and
interference with computer systems, computer-related fraud and forgery. It also
prohibits on-line child pornography, including the possession of such material
after downloading, as well the reproduction and distribution of copyright
protected material. The draft Convention will not only define offences but will
also address questions related to the liability of individual and corporate
offenders and determine minimum standards for the applicable penalties.
The draft text also deals with law enforcement issues: future Parties will be
obliged to empower their national authorities to carry out computer searches and
seize computer data, require data-subjects to produce data under their control,
preserve or obtain the expeditious preservation of vulnerable data by
data-subjects. The interception of data transmitted through networks, including
telecommunication networks, is also under discussion. These computer-specific
investigative measures will also imply co-operation by telecom operators and
Internet Service Providers, whose assistance is vital to identify computer
criminals and secure evidence of their misdeeds.
As computer-crimes are often international in their nature, national measures
need to be supplemented by international co-operation. The draft treaty
therefore requires future Parties to provide each other various forms of
assistance, for example by preserving evidence and locating on-line suspects.
The text also deals with certain aspects of trans-border computer searches.
Traditional forms of mutual assistance and extradition would also be available
under the draft Convention and a network of 24 hours/ day, 7 days/week
availablenational contact points would be set up to speed up international investigations.
The 41-nation Council of Europe has previously produced two recommendations on
the question, in 1989 and in 1995, to encourage governments to adapt laws to the
challenge of computer-related crime, but later a binding legal instrument was
considered necessary to harmonise computer-crime provisions, step up
investigations and ensure effective international co-operation among
authorities. The draft Convention is expected to be finalised by an expert group
by December 2000 and the Committee of Ministers could adopt the text and open it
for signature as early as September 2001. Given the importance of the subject,
non-member States, such as Canada, Japan, South-Africa and the United States,
also actively participate in the negotiations.
By releasing the latest draft of the treaty, the Council of Europe seeks to
enhance the consultation process with interested parties, whether public or
private. It particularly encourages business and civil society organisations to
come forward and share their comments with the experts involved in the
negotiations before the text eventually becomes final. "
[Source: Council of Europe Press Service - Treaty Office - 27apr00]
USEFUL LINKS: