Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-09-05-Speech-3-019"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20010905.2.3-019"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, Echelon is an interception system which does not differentiate between communications, data and documents. It does exist and represents a considerable step forwards. From now on, the Union’s institutions, particularly the representatives of the Council and the Commission, will no longer be able to say that information reported in the media is inaccurate. There is, however, inconsistency between what has been ascertained and the conclusions of the report, for the system flagrantly infringes the fundamental right to privacy guaranteed by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 6 of the Treaty on European Union.
In fact, because of its technical capabilities, the system nullifies the relationship of proportionality which, precisely within the meaning of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, has to exist between interference in people’s private lives and the benefits of interception for protection purposes. This is all the more serious in that interception is currently carried out by means of these technical capabilities by a third country on EU territory and to the detriment of the citizens of the countries of the Union, without the possibility of any sort of legal, administrative or parliamentary control.
A further problem is that one of the countries managing the Echelon system is the United Kingdom, a Member of the European Union, while other Member States such as Germany have made their territory available for the siting of antennae, listening posts and other equipment. Quite simply, the group of English-speaking countries managing Echelon is doing what it likes with the privacy of European citizens, as is explicitly noted in point 26 of the conclusion, cited by Mrs Flesch moreover, which means that Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights is being infringed. However, rather than trusting the United Kingdom not to abuse the information, we should at least have recorded its infringement of this article and noted the fact that its participation in the Echelon system is incompatible with its responsibilities under the European Treaties.
Genuine safeguarding of fundamental rights in the USA is essential for the credibility and democratic legitimacy of that country. However, we have, yet again, chosen to
waste an opportunity, at least for us, to uphold a democratic principle. For others, on the other hand, at a historic moment when great, dark clouds are gathering over the right to dissent in the EU and at world level – as we have learnt from Genoa – it would be unthinkable to abolish or at least attempt to modify and reduce the capabilities of an indiscriminate listening system, one of the most useful systems for social monitoring and, where necessary, crime prevention.
Mr President, this report and its failure to draw the appropriate conclusions reduce the fundamental right to privacy, so solemnly enshrined in our Treaties and in the Charter of Fundamental Rights, to a right which only exists on paper, or rather to a right which, tragically, is worth no more than the paper it is written on."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples