The European Commission on Wednesday adopted a proposal for a Directive on the retention of communications traffic data.
The proposal provides for an EU-wide harmonisation of the obligations on providers of publicly available electronic communications, or a public telecommunications network, to retain data related to mobile and fixed telephony for a period of one year, and internet communication data, for six months.
The proposed Directive would not be applicable to the actual content of the communications. It also includes a provision ensuring that the service or network providers will be reimbursed for the demonstrated additional costs they will have.
For its adoption, the proposal requires the approval both of the European Parliament and the Council. However, the Council is currently discussing an alternative text, a Framework Decision which would allow for data retention of up to 3 years and could be adopted by the Council alone.
“This proposal is a very balanced and constructive one, which takes account of the fundamental rights to security, to a private life and protection of personal data, as well as different interests, in particular those of law enforcement authorities and communication providers”, announced Vice President of the Commission Franco Frattini, responsible for Justice, Freedom and Security.
He went on to add that:
“I am dedicated to working on a co-decision basis with the European Parliament and the Member States in the Council, and in particular its UK Presidency, to try to reach an agreement on this issue before the end of this year - counter terrorism effectively requires that we have no time to lose.”
The proposal has taken into account to a significant extent the ongoing work on an initiative from Member States for a Framework Decision on the same topic, which has been under discussion within the Council since April 2004. However, the Commission proposal is founded on a different legal basis (EC Treaty instead of EU Treaty), which means that the European Parliament will be fully involved in the decision making process.
.
Network Tweets
Network BlogsContent
provided by
|
Archive | Resources | Partners | Site Map | Links | Newsletter Archive | Contact | RSS Feeds | About | Syndication | Advertising & Marketing | Recruitment | Terms & Conditions | Privacy & Cookies
Copyright © 2012 - All Rights Reserved - Tax-News.com
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Tax-News.com has taken reasonable care in sourcing and presenting the information contained on this site, but accepts no responsibility for any financial or other loss or damage that may result from its use. In particular, users of the site are advised to take appropriate professional advice before committing themselves to involvement in offshore jurisdictions, offshore trusts or offshore investments.
Write a comment