Charlie McCreevy: "Stocking on industrial and intellectual property"

The Press Room of the European Commission has just published the text of the intervention on "Stocking on industrial and intellectual property" delivered today by Charlie McCreevy, Member of the European Commission responsible for Internal Market and Services, at the European Parliament Legal Affairs Committee.

"EDPS issues a paper on the role of data protection officers in a push to improve the EU administration's data protection compliance"

According to the Press Room of the European Commission, "Today, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) sends a paper to the heads of the EU administration, in which he addresses the Data Protection Officer's (DPOs) role as a strategic partner in ensuring compliance with the data protection regulation (45/2001) without delay. One of the key messages is that also all EU bodies need to appoint a DPO, although the appointment in itself does not automatically mean full compliance with the regulation. A second key message is that the DPOs must be notified more adequately of personal data processing within their entity and that they must notify the EDPS of any processing which entails specific risks for the people concerned and therefore need a prior check.
Peter Hustinx, EDPS, says: 'Full compliance with the regulation is crucial when it comes to respecting the fundamental rights of the many people whose data are processed by the EU administration. With this paper, I remind the EU institutions and bodies of their data protection obligations; good progress has been made, but a lot still remains to be done and the clock is ticking'.
Data protection in the EU administration is organised in a layered system in which the DPOs, the institution or body and the EPDS all have their role to play. In the paper, the EDPS gives guidance as to how the DPOs can best perform their tasks in an independent manner. He presents his views on their main functions, including the task of monitoring compliance with the regulation; receiving notifications; keeping a processing register that the public can consult; giving advice and raising data protection awareness internally and notifying the EDPS of certain processing for prior checking. The paper also examines the relationship between the EDPS and the DPOs.

The list of EU bodies can be found here & An up-to-date list of DPOs can be found here.

The paper is available on our website.

For more information, please contact the EDPS Press Service at: +32 2 283 19 00

EDPS - the EU-administration's data protection guardian"

Siim Kallas & Viviane Reding at the Ministerial e-government conference 2005

The Press Room of the European Commission has published the Speeches delivered by Siim Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Administrative Affairs, Audit and Fraud, "Transforming public services: the new e-government strategy in the Commission", and Viviane Reding, Member of the European Commission responsible for Information Society and Media, "eGovernment in i2010 – citizens first", at the Ministerial e-government conference 2005,
Manchester, 24 November 2005.

"E-Commission: enabling efficiency and transparency"

According to the Press Room of the European Commission, "The Commission has just adopted a strategic framework, the e-Commission 2006-2010, renewing its commitment to an optimal use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to continuously improve its performance and transparency. While promoting externally the use of ICT in the whole society through the i-2010 strategy, the Commission intends to lead by example by applying to its own administration the European society policy in the e-government field. It aims in particular at offering better, more cost-effective, transparent and secure services to staff, national administrations, business and citizens."

This Press Release is available in full text.

"Commission proposes changes to JLS databases to strengthen EU internal security and facilitate legitimate travelling"

According to the Press Room of the European Commission, "With a view to achieving a higher level of EU internal security the European Commission today adopted a package of measures consisting of:
(a) a proposal for a Council Decision concerning the access for consultation to the Visa Information System (VIS) to authorities of Member States responsible for internal security and to Europol for the purposes of the prevention, detection and investigation of terrorist offences and of other serious criminal offences, and
(b) a communication on the medium- and long-term development of the three common European databases in the field of justice and home affairs: the Schengen Information System (SIS), the Visa Information System (VIS) and EURODAC, the database containing fingerprints of asylum seekers and illegal immigrants."

This Press Release is available in full text.

More News from the LEFIS Coordinator

Our Coodinator, Prof. Fernando Galindo, has also published the Justification planning for every Member of LEFIS, as it was approved in the last Steering Committe Meeting in Brussels, and stated that:
"I shall begin inmediately with the procedure to invite to new members.
As you know all interested institutions, industries and firms that agree with the LEFIS rules are very good wellcome! They can send to me the interest to participate.
I will send the invitation and the procedure as soon as possible
Best regards"

News from the LEFIS Coordinator

Our Coordinator, Prof. Fernando Galindo, has just published the Minutes of the LEFIS Steering Committee Meeting, that took place last week in Brussels.

The above mentioned Minutes are freely available, here.

"EU brokers deal on progressive internationalisation of Internet governance at Tunis World Summit"

According to the Press Room of the European Commission, "A worldwide political agreement providing for further internationalisation of Internet governance, and enhanced intergovernmental cooperation to this end, was brokered at the World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis last night. The compromise text agreed was based largely on EU proposals presented in the discussions since June. As a first important element of the agreement, a new international Internet Governance Forum (IGF) will be created to deliberate among governments, the private sector and civil society at large in a multi-stakeholder policy dialogue related to Internet Governance. A first meeting of this Forum will be convened by the Secretary-General of the United Nations by the second quarter of 2006 and take place in Greece. The texts agreed in Tunis also include language that will allow for enhanced cooperation among governments, on an equal footing, on public policy issues. Such cooperation should include the development of globally applicable principles on public policy issues associated with the coordination and management of critical Internet resources. This cooperation will make use of relevant international organisations. There was also a consensus in Tunis yesterday that countries should not be involved in decisions regarding another country’s Top Level Domain, thus meeting requests made, in particular, by the EU in the negotiations."

This Press Release is available in full text.

Last News about the LEFIS Network

From our Coodinator, Prof. Fernando Galindo, I've just received this statement:
"Dear all,
The LEFIS network has began the activities for the October 2005-October 2007 period. The meeting of the LEFIS Steering Committee took place the last week in Brussels. You can obtain the information on the meeting, the presentation, different documents and the next plans of activities in www.lefis.org/brusselsSCN2005 . You can find also in this page the signed agreement with the European Union.
I shall send to you nextly the Minutes of the Meeting.
Best regards."

"EU pleads for freedom of speech as instrument to bridge the digital divide at this week’s World Summit in Tunis"

According to the Press Room of the European Commission, "The question of how the worldwide web is run, and how it can best safeguard basic freedoms and drive economic growth around the globe, will dominate the second World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) that starts tomorrow in Tunis and will end on 18 November. The discussions of more than 50 Heads of State or Government, or their representatives, and of many non-governmental organisations and representatives of civil society, will also focus on financial mechanisms to bridge the digital divide.
'I hope that Tunis will mark an important step forward in the internet’s long evolution away from government control and towards truly international governance', said Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media, who is leading the Commission delegation in Tunis. 'We are almost there. We already have consensus on more than two thirds of the package and I call on all participants to make sure that this agreement is not called into question. A policy agreement in Tunis is within our grasp and it would be an important signal that democratic nations are genuinely committed to bridging the worrying divide between the world’s digital ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’, and to building a genuinely open and inclusive global information society.'

Background:
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) that officially starts tomorrow is a formal UN Summit at the level of Heads of State and Government. The EU is represented at the WSIS by the EU Presidency and the European Commission, with Members of the European Parliament included in the EU delegation. The process is divided into two phases (Geneva, 10-12 Dec. 2003; Tunis, 16-18 Nov. 2005). The talks in Tunis this week will focus on internet governance and financial mechanisms to bridge the digital divide. For the EU, discussions with civil society and private industry will parallel the official summit.

Further information:

See MEMO 05/428 or the UE WSIS Webpage.

Danuta Hübner: "European policy at the forefront of the foundation of European knowledge society"

The Press Room of the European Commission has published the Speech "European policy at the forefront of the foundation of European knowledge society" delivered today by Danuta Hübner, Member of the European Commission responsible for Regional Policy, at the Ministerial Conference "Towards a Knowledge Society - the Nordic Experience", Gothenburg, Sweden.