The European Parliament has proposed that
Europol's legal basis be changed in order to give it more powers to
fight radical Islamic terrorism, which it believes is the biggest
threat to European security. Its mandate will change, according to
the proposals, in a way that will affect how data is exchanged in
relation to the European police body.
Supervisor Peter Hustinx said that the changes
will only work if rules governing exchanges are consistent and
fair.
"We have to make sure that exchange with other
EU bodies, such as OLAF (the European Anti Fraud Agency), will be
based on a consistent level of data protection and good
co-operation in supervision," said Hustinx.
"Europol will be more in line with other EU
bodies. The main message is that this leads to greater consistency
and better data protection, which are important conditions for the
well functioning of Europol's information system," said
Hustinx.
The Parliament said that "the response adopted
by the EU in the face of terrorism must be proportionate and
properly targeted on the fight against terrorism, bearing in mind
that, until proven otherwise, the most productive measures in the
fight against new forms of terrorism are effective intelligence and
police services".
The proposed changes will require a more
consistent underlying legal framework for data protection in
relation to police data sharing, said the EDPS.
It said that once more sharing is commonplace,
those swapping information must make sure that information
collected from commercial activities are accurate, that strict
guarantees are given when databases are linked together, and that
rules are agreed on in relation to a subject's right of access to
the shared information.
The EDPS also said that if Europol is to be
involved in pan-European data sharing then there must be a
guarantee that tits data protection officer is independent. That
person is responsible for ensuring that Europol processes data
lawfully.
The EDPS itself will oversee any information
transfer to Europol from European Commission institutions.
