MEPs
had even threatened to take the Council of Ministers to court if
they were not allowed to participate in the legislative process,
according to reports.
The Council of Ministers would prefer to have the cooperation of
the European Parliament in creating the legislation but does not
actually need it. UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke, on behalf of
the EU Presidency – held by the UK until January – warned yesterday
that he would push the measure through if MEPs have made no
progress by the end of the year.
"We have reaffirmed that we will have agreement on measures to
deal with telecoms data by the end of the British presidency,” he
told the BBC. “We have agreed we will seek to join the European
Parliament in that approach if we can."
Meeting in Brussels, Ministers agreed to a compromise deal that
would oblige ISPs and telcos to retain
fixed and mobile telephony data for a minimum period of 12 months,
and IP-based communications data for a minimum period of six
months.
The proposals allow for a maximum retention period of two years,
although Member States, such as Ireland and Italy, who already have
national retention periods going beyond that, will be allowed to
stick to their existing timescales.
In addition, the deal allows Member States to decide at a
national level whether to reimburse industry for the additional
costs that the scheme will incur, and confirms that the measure
will be reviewed after five years to ensure that it is working
properly.
"This development today means justice and home affairs ministers
are willing to accept a legal process that will let all branches of
government decide the issue," a spokesman for EU Justice
Commissioner Franco Frattini, told the International Herald
Tribune.
