Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-03-12-Speech-3-171"
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"en.20030312.5.3-171"2
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"Mr President, I fully agree with what Mr Hernández Mollar has said. We are aware of the United States’ security requirements but, Commissioners, it is the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which the Commission is committed to upholding, which sanctions the fundamental right to protection of personal data, and it is the 1995 directive, proposed by the Commission and approved by us, that lays down the rules for the protection of that data. That directive stipulates that the Commission, through a specified procedure that it lays down, must ascertain whether the third country offers adequate protection for data transferred to it regarding our citizens and, if not, that it must open negotiations, find solutions and submit its assessment to the scrutiny of the European Parliament.
In the case we have here, the transfer of passengers’ personal data by airlines that fly to the United States, as required by the US authorities on the basis of laws passed in 2001 and 2002, presents serious problems of compatibility with European legislation, particularly as regards the possibility of direct access by the US customs to our airlines’ reservation systems and passenger name records.
Amongst other things, I must point out that the data to be acquired – through that direct access – could also contain information of a financial nature or of a medical, religious or ethnic nature which might also refer to persons other than passengers bound for the territory of the United States, that the data might be transferred to other bodies without the consent or control of those it refers to, and that US law only protects US citizens.
In this situation, the Commission failed to inform Parliament – as it has admitted – it failed to inform the European citizens prior to the date, 5 March, when the demands on the airlines enter into force, and it did not fulfil its obligation to check whether suitable protection exists in due time but has relied on statements by officials and press releases to convey the promise and reassurance of future interventions.
Thus, a fundamental right of European citizens is now at risk. The airlines and national authorities that safeguard personal data are placed in a situation of legal uncertainty, exposed to prosecution for breaking national laws and to the risk of serious financial damage. The Commissioners who have competence in this area must accept their responsibilities straight away and obtain a temporary suspension of the effects of the laws in question; they must request formal and verifiable guarantees, obtain the opinions provided for by the directives and submit a decision to the European Parliament under Article 25 of the directive. Otherwise, I believe the European Parliament will have to consider appealing to the Court of Justice to ensure protection for the citizens of Europe."@en1
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