Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-07-06-Speech-2-062"
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"en.20100706.5.2-062"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, I am very grateful that the Commissioner can be here. I am sure that the Spanish Presidency’s need for discussion is about to come to an end. Where we had bulk data transfer in SWIFT, we now have a bulk gathering in Parliament. Well, let it be so.
In February, we sent a very clear signal as Parliament that the Treaty of Lisbon not only gives us more opportunities, but also, and above all, more responsibility as the European Parliament. We govern with, and together with, the Commission and the Council at European level. The Commission has been requested to present us with an improved agreement and to enter into negotiations once again, and the mandate for these negotiations has been confirmed by the European Parliament. Given all the differences that might exist between the groups and, above all, the different points of emphasis, I believe it would not be honourable to deny that the Commission has made some genuine progress. That is something that we must give it a great deal of credit for, especially in the context of the arrangement within which it has been working and of the opportunities that were open to it.
At the same time, however, it emerged during the subsequent negotiations that the word ‘impossible’ was used a great deal. It was impossible to alter certain things, or to reopen the agreement. It was impossible to demand concessions from the United States, let alone for the European Parliament to have any influence over the Council. If I personally have learnt anything from this discussion, it is that the word ‘impossible’ does not exist in politics if the political will is there. For we have seen that the European Parliament was in a position, in collaboration with the Commission, to ensure that improvements were inserted into the text of the agreement. After the agreement was initialled, the Commissioner was able to agree with the United States that an important request – namely that European officials could be in situ in Washington to monitor extraction of data and in cases of abuse to prevent it should the occasion arise – should be included in the agreement, namely in Article 12(1).
Furthermore, an important issue for all groups was the transfer of bulk data to the United States. That is something that we have achieved in collaboration with the Council and, it must be admitted, using a certain amount of pressure – that in the medium term, we are in a position to resolve this problem. It will not be done overnight, but we have a clear concession from the Commission, enshrined in a Council document – in passing, I can say that we have never before been able to amend a Council document with our wording, so this is a unique occurrence – that after one year, the Commission must lay before us a technical and legal framework for the extraction of this data from European soil.
After three years, we must also receive a progress report on how far this system has developed in the interim. There is a reference to Article 11 of the agreement in this inserted text, to wit that a progress report must follow within three years, and Article 11 of the agreement states that if the European Union works on a procedure itself, both parties – the US and the European Union – must amend the text of the agreement accordingly. This means that we have the possibility of revisiting this afresh, without surprising anyone or damaging mutual interests. We have managed to ensure that, in the event that this system does not exist after five years, there must be serious discussion and then negotiation, that the agreement must then be terminated according to Article 21(2), and that a new agreement must be drawn up on the basis of what then exists.
I must, above all, reassure those who are concerned that their personal bank data, rental payments and miscellaneous remittances will be transferred to the United States. It is explicitly provided that no national data transfer is included in the transfer of data to the United States. Internal European bank data transfers will also largely not be conducted via SWIFT. These are instead SEPA data, which are explicitly excluded from the agreement. What remains, therefore, are data from the European Union to third countries, which are transferred to and evaluated in the United States, until we are in the position to do this ourselves.
In conclusion, as I still have a little time left following this round of speakers, I should like to say that this process has taught us that the Commission, the Council and Parliament must pull together more closely, and, when it comes to coordination, cooperate even better. I believe that, with reference to the changes that the Treaty of Lisbon has set out, we have shown what form they can take, and that, together with the Commission and the Council, we have been aware of our responsibility to present a sensible solution.
As has been said, not everyone in this House is pleased, but I would like expressly to thank my fellow Members, including those who will sit in opposition, for their willingness to propose key points. To fellow Members from the larger groups, who will be prepared to vote with us for this agreement on Thursday, my thanks also go to you for the cooperation and good shared work that we have enjoyed. As I have already said, my particular respect goes to those among my fellow Members who will be voting against, as they have played a most constructive role in this process. One can never attain 100%, however, when one has four negotiating partners."@en1
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