or better-value services. The Austrian state has not guaranteed the DPA's protection from indirect influences In its decision, the ECJ noted that the functional independence granted to the Austrian DPA in its statute is not sufficient. This is due to the links between the DPA and the Austrian Federal Chancellery, which is responsible for the coordination of a number of policy areas within the country's government, and which is presided over by the head of the government. The EC's 1995 Directive on Data Protection aims to guarantee the full independence of DPAs. Although this principle is not detailed further in the directive, the court believed that it has to be interpreted as the DPA's ability to be safe from both direct and indirect influence in carrying out its activities, and it stated that the Austrian DPA could not be considered protected from such influences. The EC's proposal for a new framework aims to introduce more consistency and coordination across the DPAs of all the EU member states, and requires that DPAs have separate budgets and are not subject to financial controls that hinder their independence. A mechanism has been designed to ensure that DPAs follow standard procedures when adopting measures. In a similar fashion to NRAs in the telecoms sector, DPAs will have to liaise with a European Data Protection Board (which is to be introduced by the proposed Regulation) and with the EC, submitting their draft measures to both bodies. The DPAs will then be expected to take the