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[Espresso]

Press:

Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee will conduct an "in-depth inquiry" into the US surveillance programmes, including the bugging of EU premises and other spying allegations, and present its results by the end of this year, says a resolution passed by the full House on Thursday. Parliament's President and political group leaders formally confirmed the launch of the inquiry. MEPs also call for more protection for whistleblowers.



In the resolution, approved by 483 votes to 98 with 65 abstentions, MEPs express serious concern over PRISM and other surveillance programmes, strongly condemn spying on EU representations and call on the US authorities to provide them with full information on these allegations without further delay.

Parliament also expresses grave concern about allegations that similar surveillance programmes are run by several EU member states, such as the UK, Sweden, The Netherlands, Germany and Poland. It urges them to examine whether those programmes are compatible with EU law.

Civil Liberties Committee inquiry

The Civil Liberties Committee inquiry will gather information and evidence from both US and EU sources and present its conclusions in a resolution by the end of the year. It will assess the impact of the alleged surveillance activities on EU citizens' right to privacy and data protection, freedom of expression, the presumption of innocence and the right to an effective remedy.

MEPs involved in the inquiry will table recommendations to prevent similar cases in future and step up IT security in the EU institutions, bodies and agencies.

Protecting whistleblowers

MEPs stress the need for "procedures allowing whistleblowers to unveil serious violations of fundamental rights" and the importance of providing such people with the protection they need, including at international level.

Suspend air passenger and bank data deals?

MEPs call on the European Commission, the Council of Ministers and EU countries to consider possible recourse to all levers at their disposal in negotiations with the US, including suspending the current air passenger and bank data deals (Passenger Name Record and Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme, respectively).

Trade talks should not undermine data protection

EU data protection standards should not be undermined as a result of the EU-US trade deal, warns the resolution, adding that it would be "unfortunate" if EU-US trade talks were to be affected by such allegations.

Stronger data safeguards urgently needed

Parliament calls on EU countries to speed up their work on the whole data protection package and urges the Commission and the US authorities to resume negotiations on the data protection agreement without delay. The final deal must ensure that EU citizens' access to the US judicial system is equal to that enjoyed by US citizens, it adds.

Source: European Parliament

 

[BAW]

EU please

 

[syllogism]

Are they going to launch inquiries into the similar programs by UK and France (and others, I'm sure) or is the outrage limited to the acts which targeted EU institutions?

 

[Angelus Errare]

Ain't nobody gonna do anything to this water buffalo!

 

[I am Michael Bolton]

Are they going to launch inquiries into the similar programs by UK and France (and others, I'm sure) or is the outrage limited to the acts which targeted EU institutions?

Read the article?

 

[syllogism]

Read the article?

You are right, guilty as charged. Still, will this actually go anywhere with most large member states apparently having similar programmes?

 

[raphanum]

Translation: we'll posture and act outraged by setting into motion events that will lead to nowhere.

 

[Ripclawe]

symbolic nonsense to appease the gullible. everyone does it and will continue to do it.

 

[Mr. RHC]

symbolic nonsense to appease the gullible. everyone does it and will continue to do it.

But not everybody thinks that it is a good thing.

 

[Alx]

You are right, guilty as charged. Still, will this actually go anywhere with most large member states apparently having similar programmes?

Maybe we will settle to have our own spying program at EU-level, instead of letting members spending too much time and money doing it on their own.
I'm surprised that they couldn't find anything against France, by the way. UK, Sweden, The Netherlands, Germany and Poland, but not us ? Either we're very good at this game, or we're very bad.

 

[params7]

Yeah EU seems to be very pissed off with the spying revelations. Good on them.

 

[DrFunk]

Maybe we will settle to have our own spying program at EU-level, instead of letting members spending too much time and money doing it on their own.
I'm surprised that they couldn't find anything against France, by the way. UK, Sweden, The Netherlands, Germany and Poland, but not us ? Either we're very good at this game, or we're very bad.

http://gigaom.com/2013/07/04/france-has-its-own-prism-like-surveillance-program-report-suggests/

http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/artic...sur-le-big-brother-francais_3441973_3224.html

 

[The Technomancer]

I'm fine with this.

 

[ComputerMKII]

http://gigaom.com/2013/07/04/france-has-its-own-prism-like-surveillance-program-report-suggests/

http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/artic...sur-le-big-brother-francais_3441973_3224.html

Yep, I made a thread about this: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=613306

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

On the 4th of July?

Must be time for America to assert her independence again!

 

[Cow Mengde]

Obama called "war criminal" & "hypocrite of the century" in Irish Parliament

 

[Mudkips]

Obama called "war criminal" & "hypocrite of the century" in Irish Parliament

Fully agree.

 

[Espresso]

Obama called "war criminal" & "hypocrite of the century" in Irish Parliament

She's dreamy.

 

[el retorno]

Obama called "war criminal" & "hypocrite of the century" in Irish Parliament

A far-left European politician calls a US president bad things? Shocking. I'm gonna say there have been quite a few bigger hypocrites though.

I love her website though
http://www.unitedleft.ie/

 

[Foffy]

Obama called "war criminal" & "hypocrite of the century" in Irish Parliament

Holy shit, this woman..<3

 

[jimi_dini]

Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee will conduct an "in-depth inquiry" into the US surveillance programmes

Why do an "in-depth inquiry"? Instead of doing that, just tell them to stop. Oh wait, you don't want them to stop, don't you.

MEPs also call for more protection for whistleblowers.

More protection would imply that there is in fact protection already. And by just taking a look at the various denials of Snowden's asylum requests by some of our polished democracies in Europe, it doesn't look like there is. Looking further at the Evo Morales incident, it even looks as if it's actually the opposite of protection.

Or maybe they actually mean "more protection from whistleblowers?

 

[Harlock]

The american government just need show the list of dirty things that each european political search in google to blakmail them all