WRITTEN QUESTION E-2281/01 by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Conventions on the protection of personal data on the Internet.
Date: 2001-07-31
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: data protection, personal data, protection of privacy, regulation of telecommunications

14.2.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 40 E/233

(2002/C 40 E/252)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2281/01

by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(31 July 2001)

Subject: Conventions on the protection of personal data on the Internet

According to a survey carried out in Greece between 1 and 12 June 2001 by a well-known legal portal,
most networks, websites and portals in Greece completely fail to refer to the conventions on liability and
the protection of personal data in their central website.

As both Community legislation and the Greek Personal Data Protection Authority require all networks
without exception to refer to these agreements on their central websites, could the Commission indicate
whether it is aware of this fact and if so, what it intends to do to ensure observance of the rules laid down
in both Greek and European law?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(21 September 2001)

It is the Commission(cid:146)s opinion that the question asked by the Honourable Member primarily concerns the
application of the Greek law on the protection of personal data. The matter can be brought before the
Greek Personal Data Protection Authority in order to ensure the correct application of Greek law. The
Commission would inform the Honourable Member that the Working Party for the Protection of Personal
Data, set up under Article 29 of Directive 95/46/EC on the protection of individuals with regard to the
processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (1), recently adopted recommendation
2/2001 on the information which websites should publish in applying the national laws which transpose
the Directive: (available at http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/media/dataprot/wpdocs.htm).

In addition, the Commission will take account of the relevant issues raised by the Honourable Member(cid:146)s
question when it examines the conformity of the Greek measures to transpose Directive 95/46/EC.

(1) OJ L 281, 23.11.1995.

(2002/C 40 E/253)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2295/01

by Christoph Konrad (PPE-DE) to the Commission

Subject: Unbalanced membership of the Enterprise Policy Group

(31 July 2001)

1. What is the Commission(cid:146)s purpose in setting up, within the Directorate-General for Enterprise, the
Enterprise Policy Group which began work on 11 June 2001?

2.
How does the Commission justify the fact that, of the 35 members of this Group, only 4 come from
the trade sector, even though additional jobs and training places in Europe are mostly being created in
SMEs in the trade, craft and service sectors? Why are none of these representatives from Germany, which
is after all the [EU(cid:146)s] largest trading nation? (Does not the Commission not consider that this body(cid:146)s
membership as a whole is somewhat unbalanced, given that only 4 of its members come from Germany?)

3.
How does the Commission justify dissolving, and not replacing, the Committee on Commerce and
Distribution of the former DG XXII, in which leading representatives from the trade and service sectors
provided valuable advice to the Commission? Does the Commission propose to reinstate this committee?