A new "legal framework" will be introduced for data protection law in the European Union, the Commission has said.
The Commisison has published a plan to govern on issues of justice and security in the wake of the passing of the Lisbon Treaty, a new legal basis for EU government that came into force last December. This absorbed policy on security and justice into the main body of EU government and reduced the ability of member states to block policies.
The Stockholm Programme is the Commission's five year policy plan on justice and security. It has published its plans and asked the European Parliament and European Council of Ministers to endorse it. Any Member State used to be able to block justice and security measures in the Council but the Lisbon Treaty removed this ability and the Council now votes on a majority basis and no longer requires unanimous support from member countries.
"In a period of change, as the world only starts to emerge from the economic and financial crisis, the European Union has more than ever the duty to protect and project our values and to defend our interests," said the Commission's Communication to other EU government bodies on the issue. "Respect for the human person and human dignity, freedom, equality, and solidarity are our everlasting values at a time of unrelenting societal and technological change. These values must therefore be at the heart of our endeavours."
"The entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty enables the Union to demonstrate greater ambition in responding to the day-to-day concerns and aspirations of people in Europe," it said.
The Commission said that to protect people's privacy in the face of the changes it would make, it would need to recast data protection law.
"In a global society characterised by rapid technological change where information exchange knows no borders, it is particularly important that privacy must be preserved," said the Communication. "The Union must ensure that the fundamental right to data protection is consistently applied. We need to strengthen the EU’s stance in protecting the personal data of the individual in the context of all EU policies, including law enforcement and crime prevention as well as in our international relations."
The Commission said that it would introduce in 2010 a "new comprehensive legal framework for data protection".
It also said that it would seek to negotiate with the US to enforce a "personal data protection agreement for law enforcement purposes with the United States of America". It also said that it would publish a communication on personal data protection for law enforcement purposes in relation to other third party countries.
The Commission said that its new policies on crime would in part be based on better information sharing between international bodies and between countries. This demands a review of, and changes to, current data sharing and data protection practices, it said.
"The establishment of a strategic agenda for the exchange of information requires an overview of existing data collection, processing and data-sharing systems, with a thorough assessment of their usefulness, efficiency, effectiveness, proportionality and their respect of the right to privacy. It should also lay the ground for a coherent development of all existing and future information systems," said the Commission.
"We also need to remove all the obstacles in the way of effective law enforcement cooperation between Member States. EU agencies and bodies such as FRONTEX, Europol and Eurojust, as well as OLAF, have a crucial role to play. They must cooperate better and be given the powers and resources necessary to achieve their goals within clearly defined roles," it said.
