Oh, this is getting to be fun!
The lead story at the Financial Times tonight is about how the European Union is threatening to suspend two data sharing agreements with the US. The pink paper also adds that this row has the potential to undermine the EU-US trade negotiations which are set to start next week (we speculated a few days ago that this might come to pass). On our side of the pond, so far only the Wall Street Journal has weighted in, with a cheery headline U.S.-EU Trade Talks on Track Despite Spy Fears which is narrowly accurate since the trade negotiations have not been rescheduled but seems to understate the degree of unhappiness and ire.
The interesting question is how and why has this row escalated now? Mind you, the Eurocrats do have a lot to be angry about. Remember, the US was caught spying on EU officials. Der Speigel released information from Edward Snowden that charged that the NSA had bugged the European Union’s offices in Washington and the UN and hacked into their computers (which enabled them to monitor meetings) and targeted other missions.
If you remember, this story broke shortly before a G8 meeting in Dublin. Obama got the cold shoulder. The European officials appear to have cornered the Americans. This AFP story ran June 14, while the summit was underway:
The United States has agreed to share information with the European Union about its huge Internet and phone surveillance programme, a senior EU official said today.As I am reading between the lines of the two FT stories tonight, US agrees to talks with EU on surveillance, and Brussels threatens to suspend data sharing with US in spying row, the Administration may be even more on the back foot that it appears. (I welcome input from readers of the European press, particularly those who have a good handle for how the EU deals with the governments of member states over jurisdictional issues).
EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom and Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding secured the agreement from US Attorney General Eric Holder after talks with the American official in Dublin, Malmstrom said.
“Agreed with the US in Dublin to set up a transatlantic expert group to receive more info on PRISM and look at the safeguards,” Malmstrom said on Twitter, without elaborating…
The EU and US officials were meeting as part of already scheduled ministerial talks in the Irish capital.
The move comes days after the EU demanded answers from Holder and warned of a “grave” threat to the rights of European citizens from the intelligence programme.
On July 1, TechWeekEurope reported that (hat tip Lambert):
Free trade talks are due to start next week between the US and Europe, and Brussels officials have been hinting that the snooping allegations will throw a spanner in the works….So if EU official were fulminating to the media, they had almost certainly been making unhappy noises through official channels too.
Even before the revelations of spying on the European authorities, the European Commission was already very concerned about US activities, according to a statement sent to TechWeekeurope: “We have seen the media reports and we are of course concerned for possible consequences on EU citizens’ privacy. For the moment it is too early to draw any conclusion or to comment further,” said home affairs commissioner Cecilia Malmström.
On Wednesday July 3, the EU threw a bomb. Notice the timing; they had to know this was before a major US holiday, but must have been completely frustrated by the lack of responsiveness of the US in light of the pending trade negotiations (as in they were not about to give up a huge bargaining chip, but the US was apparently going to try to keep the negotiations on schedule). I’m providing this speech in full because I can’t recall the last time I’ve seen a reprimand like this between allies (emphasis theirs):
Plenary Session of the European Parliament/Strasbourg
3 July 2013
MAIN MESSAGES
1/ On the NSA spying allegations:
It is a matter of mutual trust and good practices in relations between friends and allies. It is clear that for negotiations on the trade agreement with the US to succeed, there needs to be confidence, transparency and clarity among the negotiating partners. This excludes spying on EU institutions.
2/ On the US PRISM programme:
The purpose [of the transatlantic working group] is to establish the facts and for the Commission to be able to assess the proportionality of the programmes with regard to the data protection of EU citizens.
The US appears to take our concerns regarding PRISM seriously. Attorney General Eric Holder committed, in a letter to me yesterday, to set up the expert group. We spoke yesterday evening on the phone and we agreed that the group will have its first meeting this month, and a second one in Washington in September. The Commission will report about the findings of the group to Parliament and Council in October.
3/ On the UK’s TEMPORA programme:
The message is clear: the fact that the programmes are said to relate to national security does not mean that anything goes. A balance needs to be struck between the policy objective pursued and the impact on fundamental rights, in particular the right to privacy. It is a question of proportionality.
As regards next steps, we will continue the discussion with the UK on the Tempora project.
4/ On the EU’s data protection reform:
PRISM and Tempora are a wake-up call for us to advance on our data protection reform for both the private and the public sector. A strong framework for data protection is neither a constraint nor a luxury but a necessity.
Various elements of the reform are of particular relevance. It will clarify the territorial application of the law, including to companies operating in the EU. It will have a broad definition of personal data. It will clarify regime for international transfers. It will impose obligations and responsibilities on processors as well as controllers of data.
[I]t has become urgent to proceed on a solid piece of legislation. Any delay in the data protection reform only plays in the hands of those who do not share the objective of a high level of data protection.
Continue Reading at ..... http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/07/eu-demands-explanations-for-us-spying-threatens-data-pacts-and-trade-deal.html
