Mr President, in countries with a high level of technological development, the protection of privacy is always more at risk, and therefore appropriate safeguards must be established. The countries of the European Union are at the vanguard in the protection of privacy compared to systems adopted in other parts of the world, especially those countries which have implemented the two directives, Directive 95/46 and Directive 97/66 – on the protection of individuals with regard to the protection of personal data. The European model considers the protection of personal data to be a fundamental right guaranteed by legally binding rules, based on the principle of peoples’ self-determination of data, that is the principle whereby everyone must be able to decide whether and how personal data concerning him can be collected and used. In this model, respect for standards and procedures is guaranteed by an independent authority and final jurisdiction lies with the judges. Since a great deal of personal data is also collected and processed by the institutions and the Union’s bodies, the system of guarantees contained in the European model must apply to them as well. Therefore, a rule laying down the right of everyone to the protection of personal data concerning him, which must be processed fairly for specific purposes on the basis of the consent of the person concerned and subject to control by an independent authority, has been included in Article 8 of the draft Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Moreover, Article 286 of the Treaty establishing the European Communities, introduced by the Treaty of Amsterdam, lays down that Community acts on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of data – that is the two above-mentioned directives – apply to the institutions and Community bodies and that an independent supervisory body responsible for monitoring the application of such Community acts must be established. The proposal for a regulation which is being examined by Parliament today implements these provisions, transposes the Community legislation and establishes the office of European Data Protection Supervisor, thereby providing appropriate, tangible guarantees of this fundamental right. Over months of work and with the constant assistance of the Commission, we have attempted – and we can inform you that we have been successful – to produce a detailed regulation responding to the concerns voiced by the Council and by the Parliamentary committees responsible for assessing the regulation and formulating opinions. The willingness of all the institutions concerned to discuss the matter resulted in exemplary cooperation which, it is my fervent hope, will make it possible for us to reach a consensus at the first reading. The many joint amendments reproduce the majority of the solutions identified by the Council, and these already take into account the proposals made during the Parliamentary debate. Acceptable solutions have therefore been reached, for example regarding the appointment of the European Supervisor and the Assistant Supervisor, which is to be agreed by Parliament and the Council from lists of names drawn up by the Commission following a call for candidates. With the unanimous support of the Committee on Citizens’ Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs, your rapporteur nevertheless insists upon certain amendments which, for example offer a novel solution to the much-debated subject of the scope of the regulation. It is restricted to the Community context but a form of protection is provided for in respect of the activities of the institutions outside the first pillar; this solution is obtained by referring to the rules for the protection of privacy relating to the right of access to documents, governed by Article 225 of the Treaty establishing the European Communities. In fact, Article 225, unlike Article 286, is also referred to in the Treaty on European Union. Provision is also made for cooperation with the national supervisory authorities and with the authorities established in the third pillar, with a view to coordinating and gradually harmonising the entire regulation of this sensitive area. Moreover, provision has been made for an autonomous budget heading, in accordance with the prevailing system for the European Ombudsman, in order to provide a greater guarantee of the independence of the Data Protection Supervisor. I am confident that our untiring work will win the full approval of the European Parliament and the Council. Thus, for the first time, codecision will apply at the first reading to an extremely complex text which is full of technical difficulties on the particularly sensitive sector of the protection of civil liberties. The very technical complexity of the text suggests that it would be a good idea to postpone the vote until the next part-session in order to allow an accurate check to be carried out on all the different language versions, for this has not yet been carried out. If this result is, as I hope, achieved, this will be due to the mediating capacities of the Presidency-in-Office of the Council, the positive contribution of the Commission and the sensitivity to public interest and the rights of the citizens displayed by the Members of Parliament of all the political groups which contributed to the adoption of the report by the Committee on Civil Liberties and Internal Affairs. I would like to thank them all publicly. IN THE CHAIR: MR PACHECO PEREIRAVice-President

Political group: PSE