WRITTEN QUESTION E-0312/00 by Marietta Giannakou-Koutsikou (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Safeguarding citizens' rights in view of the advent of new forms of telecommunications.
Date: 2000-02-11
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU law, Internet, Internet access provider, computer piracy, new technology, personal data, protection of communications, telematics

21.11.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 330 E/119

Answer given by Mrs Wallstr(cid:246)m on behalf of the Commission

(2 March 2000)

The (cid:145)grenspark De Zoom-Kalmthoutse Heide(cid:146) is situated partially in Belgium and partially in the Nether-
lands.

The Belgian part of the site has been designated as a special protection area (SPA), called (cid:145)Kalmthoutse
Heide(cid:146), in accordance with Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild
birds. The Dutch part has been designated as a site of Community interest (SIC), called (cid:145)Ossendrecht(cid:146), in
accordance with Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild
flora and fauna (1). The Dutch authorities have announced that they will also designate the site as a SPA.

Pursuant to Article 7 of Directive 92/43/EEC, Articles 6(2), 6(3) and 6(4) of that directive apply to the site.

The activities that are mentioned in the question, water extraction and mass recreation, can not be
considered as a plan or project in the sense of Article 6(3). Therefore Articles 6(3) and 6(4) do not apply in
this case. Because the activities already exist, only Article 6(2) applies to the case in question. This
provision prescribes that Member States shall take appropriate steps to avoid the deterioration of natural
habitats and the habitats of species as well as disturbance of the species for which the areas in question
have been designated, in so far as such disturbance could be significant in relation to the objectives of the
directive.

In reply to the first question it should in particular be noted that it is up to the Member States to take
steps to comply with Article 6(2) of Directive 92/43/EEC, and not the Commission. The Commission lacks
specific information about (cid:145)De Zoom-Kalmthoutse Heide(cid:146), so it is not able to judge if measures have to be
taken to prevent further drying out of the site. For the same reason the Commission is not able to take a
position with respect to the issues that are raised in the second and third questions.

The Commission is taking the necessary steps to obtain further information about the application of
Article 6(2) of Directive 92/43/EEC with respect to (cid:145)De Zoom-Kalmthoutse Heide(cid:146). If necessary it will take
further steps to ensure that the national authorities comply with this provision.

(1) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992.

(2000/C 330 E/133)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0312/00

by Marietta Giannakou-Koutsikou (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(11 February 2000)

Subject: Safeguarding citizens(cid:146) rights in view of the advent of new forms of telecommunications

The development of digital technology and the applications of this technology in modern forms of
communication are creating a new situation in all sectors of audiovisual data transmission. The
concomitant development of the Internet as a multi-purpose tool which is user-friendly,
i.e. easy and
cheap to access for ordinary consumers, means that it can also be used as a telephone system. Various
types of full duplex telephone services operating through the Internet are already available (the VDOPhone,
for instance). The consequences of this are twofold: the development of an Internet telephone system
outside any (cid:145)formal(cid:146) legislative framework and the absence in practice of legal safeguards protecting the
rights of citizens as regards the confidentiality of communications and personal data. There exists therefore
a procedural and operational (cid:145)legislative(cid:146) void which must be filled consistently and in good time in the
interests of ordinary citizens.

Will the Commission review the present situation and propose a framework to uphold existing legislative
safeguards for citizens(cid:146) rights in respect of both new forms of telecommunications and (cid:145)conventional(cid:146)
forms which are changing in response to new digital standards?

C 330 E/120

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

21.11.2000

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(30 March 2000)

Directive 97/66/EC of the Parliament and the Council of 15 December 1997 concerning the protection of
personal data and privacy in the telecommunications sector (1) applies to all public telecommunications
services regardless of the technology used. As far as it contains no specific provision, the rules of the
general data protection Directive 95/46/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on
the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of
such data (2) apply.

The example mentioned by the Honourable Member, of voice telephony provided over the Internet, is
therefore fully covered by existing data protection principles. This implies that the confidentiality of
communications by voice telephony over the Internet must be guaranteed by Member States and that
service providers must ensure the security of their services. Moreover, in case of residual security risks, as
they are likely to exist on a network as open as the Internet, the service providers are obliged to inform
their customers of such risks and must explain them how they can obtain better security (e.g. through
encryption).

If in practice there is a certain lack of awareness among service providers about their obligations under
existing Community data protection and privacy law, this is probably due to the fact that most Member
States have only recently transposed Directive 97/66/EC in national law. The national data protection
commissioners have an important role to play in raising awareness about data protection principles among
service providers and customers. As members of the Article 29 data protection working party, the
independent Community advisory body on data protection and privacy, they have already adopted several
relevant opinions and recommendations,
for example the document confirming the application of
Directive 95/46/EC and Directive 97/66/EC to personal data processing and communications on the
Internet (available at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/dg15/en/media/dataprot/wpdocs/index.htm).

In addition to legal guarantees, privacy enhancing technologies can reinforce the control that individuals
have on their personal data and help prevent such data being compromised on networks. The Commission
has initiated some awareness activities on technological developments (e.g. a workshop on privacy
enhancing technologies) in this area. Moreover, the Information society technologies programme (IST, part
of the Fifth Framework programme on research and technological development (RTD)) includes an action
line referring to (cid:145)technology building blocks for trust and security(cid:146) focussing on technologies to empower
users to consciously and effectively manage and negotiate their personal rights (IST 2000 (cid:129) II.4.1.).

In conclusion, the protection of personal data and privacy for telecommunications services using new
technologies is guaranteed by the existing legal framework. Nevertheless, in the context of the 1999 review
of telecommunications legislation, the Commission proposed a technological and terminological update of
Directive 97/66/EC to ensure a consistent and technology-neutral application of data protection provisions
to communication services. The Commission will submit proposals to the Parliament and the Council
before summer 2000.

(1) OJ L 24, 30.1.1998.
(2) OJ L 281, 23.11.1995.

(2000/C 330 E/134)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0314/00

by Ioannis Mar(cid:237)nos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(11 February 2000)

Subject: Olive oil imports from third countries

A document on the development of the EAGGF Guarantee Section for the 1988-2000 period published by
the European Parliament(cid:146)s Directorate-General for Committees and Delegations states clearly (p. 11) that