WRITTEN QUESTION P-0108/02 by Kathalijne Buitenweg (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Safeguards when supplying personal data to third states and authorities.
Date: 2002-01-18
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Europol, United States, cooperation policy, negotiation of an agreement (EU), personal data, protection of privacy

14.11.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 277 E/19

(2002/C 277 E/018)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0108/02

by Kathalijne Buitenweg (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(18 January 2002)

Subject: Safeguards when supplying personal data to third states and authorities

The recent agreement on far-reaching strategic and technical cooperation between Europol and the United
States and the authorisation for the director of Europol, in exceptional cases, to exchange personal data
with third countries and bodies are major steps towards more active cooperation between the European
Union and the United States.

The wide range of judicial bodies in the USA eligible to receive such information and the potential
differences between the American and European justice systems give grounds for concern. The European
Parliament takes a strong interest in the protection of personal data and has been complaining about the
lack of both parliamentary and judicial control ever since Europol
first became operational. These
shortcomings, combined with a lack of information about the cooperation agreements with the USA,
render largely ineffective the provisions concerning the protection of personal data contained, for example,
in Article 18 of the Europol Convention.

Will the Commission, as a member of Europol’s Management Board with non-voting status, find out and
report to me:

0 which bodies in the USA request the use of personal data from the EU and of what nature the data are

(i.e. whether they include data on individuals held on file by Member States);

0 what operational agreements have been reached with the various US bodies concerning management
of personal data, particularly as regards the purposes for which they may be used, the possibility of
passing them on to third parties, and the period during which they may be processed, including
storage of sensitive data derived from telecommunications traffic;

0 what general or particular rules have been adopted to ensure that the US authorities or each of the
bodies in question use data only for the purpose for which they have been provided, and what
safeguards or means of verification and protection have been instituted.

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(22 February 2002)

The Commission is aware of the strong interest of the Parliament in the protection of personal data and of
its views regarding the level of judicial and parliamentary control over Europol. In the near future, the
Commission will present a Communication on the question of democratic control over Europol. The
Commission regrets the impression of the Honourable Member that information to the Parliament on the
co-operation agreements with the United States would be lacking.

A Co-operation Agreement between Europol and the United States was signed on 6 December 2001 by
the Europol Director and the United States Ambassador to the Union. This Agreement is of a strategic
nature and does not address or allow the exchange of personal data with the United States. The contact
is the American
point
Department of Justice. The United States will provide Europol with a list of American law enforcement
agencies and their competencies, with which Europol can co-operate.

for the United States responsible for the co-ordination of

the Agreement

The exchange of personal data between Europol and the United States is, in accordance with Article 18 of
the Europol Convention, only possible if an adequate level of data protection is provided. In order to
ensure this level of data protection and in accordance with the Council Act of 12 March 1999 adopting
the rules governing the transmission of personal data by Europol to third States and third bodies (1), a
separate Agreement is necessary, laying down the provisions applicable to the transmission of personal
data between Europol and the United States.

C 277 E/20

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

14.11.2002

Also on 6 December 2001, the Council authorised the Europol Director to enter into negotiations with the
American authorities on such an agreement. As required by Council Decision of 27 March 2000
authorising the Director of Europol to enter into negotiations on agreements with third States and non-
Union related bodies (2), the Europol Joined Supervisory Body provided a preliminary opinion, in which it
already indicated some particular points that would require specific attention during the negotiations with
the United States. However, the negotiations have not started yet. The questions raised by the Honourable
Member concerning the exchange of personal data between the United States and Europol will be the
subject of these negotiations and can, therefore, not be answered in detail at this stage.

The Council Act of 12 March 1999 (Article 2, paragraph 1(b)) entitles the Director of Europol to authorise
exceptionally the transmission of personal data to a third country or third body under very limited
circumstances and under the conditions laid down in Article 18 of
the Europol Convention. On
28 September 2001, the Director of Europol took the decision to authorise the transmission of personal
data to the United States for the purpose of investigating the terrorist acts committed on 11 September
2001.

(1) OJ C 88, 30.3.1999.
(2) OJ C 106, 13.4.2000.

(2002/C 277 E/019)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0113/02

by Mogens Camre (UEN) to the Commission

(28 January 2002)

Subject: Grants of asylum in the EU

During 2000 and 2001 developments in the number of people granted asylum varied between the
individual EU countries.

Can the Commisison state what the various developments were in the number of asylum seekers and
grants of asylum in each of the 15 Member States during 2000 and 2001?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(3 April 2002)

As certain data for 2001 is yet to be submitted to the Commission by some Member States only
provisional conclusions can be drawn at this stage.

However, following the May 2001 Council Conclusions regarding common analysis and the improved
exchange of statistics on asylum and migration, the Commission intends to publish an annual report on
the asylum, illegal entry and immigration statistics of 2001, including a statistical analysis of trends and
indicators. The report is expected to be published at the end of 2002. It should provide more definite
answers to the questions raised by the Honourable Member.

With regards to the number of asylum applications, the available figures would tend to suggest that
Member States have not been faced with a steady flow of applications over the last two years. So far no
Member State has reported totals comparable to 2000; they experienced either a sizeable increase or
decrease.

As when assessing the total number of applications, missing 2001 data still causes difficulties when
considering developments with regards to the granting of asylum. Judging from the data submitted, 11,8 %
were granted Geneva Convention status, while the total number of positive decisions (Geneva Convention
status and subsidiary forms of protection) would be 19,8 % of the decisions taken. However, here again
developments differed in Member States.