Data protection issues topped the agenda at a...
Data protection issues topped the agenda at a Monday EU-U.S. ministerial meeting in Washington, the European Commission said. Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding, Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, Lithuanian Justice Minister Juozas Bernatonis and Interior Vice-Minister Elvinas Jankevicius met U.S. Attorney…
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General Eric Holder and Acting Homeland Security Secretary Rand Beers, it said. Officials received an update on the ad hoc EU-U.S. working group set up to address European concerns about mass U.S. spying, the EC said. The group met three times and will report to the European Parliament and Council before year’s end, it said. A second topic was the ongoing discussion on an umbrella data protection agreement for law enforcement cooperation to fight terrorism and crime, it said. The ministerial meeting will be an opportunity to advance negotiations, it said. However, Reding recently complained that although there have been more than 15 negotiating rounds, the fundamental issue of the right of Europeans to judicial redress has yet to be resolved. A third item was an update on the data protection legislative processes in the U.S. and EU, the EC said. In a joint news statement Monday, EU officials said their meeting was “constructive and productive.” On data protection they noted that issues related to alleged activities of U.S. intelligence agencies have “led to regrettable tensions in the transatlantic relationship which we seek to lessen.” The EU and U.S. have committed, “as a matter of urgency,” to advancing talks on a meaningful and comprehensive data protection umbrella agreement in the area of law enforcement, they said. Officials said they're also committed to “working to resolve the remaining issues raised by both sides, including judicial redress,” a critical issue for the EU. The goal is to complete negotiations on the agreement before summer, they said. On the joint EU-U.S. working group, officials said they underlined the importance of the ongoing reviews in the U.S. of American intelligence collection activities. The access given to the EU side of the panel will help restore trust, they said. There were also constructive talks about oversight practices in the U.S., they said. “The EU welcomes that the U.S. is considering adopting additional safeguards in the intelligence context that also would benefit EU citizens,” they said.