PJL relatif au renseignement/Rapport Moraes

De La Quadrature du Net
Aller à la navigationAller à la recherche
Autres langues :

A resolution to fight against electronic mass surveillance

On 12 March 2014, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the US NSA surveillance programme, on surveillance bodies in various Member States and their impact on EU citizens’ fundamental rights, as well as on transatlantic cooperation in Justice and Home Affairs. The resolution intended to encourage the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and Member States to implement a strategy for "democratic governance of the internet" and strengthen the protection of fundamental rights in Europe.

A few months later, noting not only the inaction of the European institutions but above all the actions of some States that are endangering fundamental rights within the EU, Claude Moraes (S&D, UK) proposed a new resolution of the European Parliament to follow up on the European Parliament resolution of 12 March 2014 on electronic mass surveillance of EU citizens. This resolution was discussed October 28, 2015 in Parliament and will be voted in plenary on October 29, at noon.

This resolution was discussed October 28, 2015 in Parliament and will be voted in plenary on October 29, at noon.

France legalizes electronic mass surveillance

Among the provisions voted in LIBE Committee, paragraph 3 directly targets some countries, including France and its surveillance laws that legalize mass surveillance:

3. Is concerned at some of the recent laws in some Member States that extend surveillance capabilities of intelligence bodies, including, in France, the new intelligence law adopted by the National Assembly on 24 June 2015, several provisions of which, according to the Commission, raise important legal questions, in the UK, the adoption of the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act 2014 and the subsequent court decision that certain articles were unlawful and to be disapplied, and, in the Netherlands, the proposals for new legislation to update the Intelligence and Security Act of 2002; reiterates its call on all Member States to ensure that their current and future legislative frameworks and oversight mechanisms governing the activities of intelligence agencies are in line with the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights and all relevant Union legislation; asks the Commission to launch without delay an assessment of all provisions of the French intelligence law and to determine its compliance with European primary and secondary law;

  • This paragraph thus refers to three countries, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and France, whose legal framework is likely to set up mass surveillance.
  • The Parliament calls on States to review their legislation and bring it in line with the European Convention on Human Rights and with European law.
  • Finally, the European Parliament asks the European Commission to assess the provisions of the surveillance law and its compliance with European law.

An additional amendment 3ter will be presented in plenary on 29 October to highlight the dangers of the French bill on international surveillance of electronic communications. This bill, adopted on 1 October by the National Assembly and on 27 October by the Senate, almost without debate, introduces mass surveillance of the communications of millions of citizens in France and around the world, without any meaningful oversight.

Certain French socialists want to exhonerate France

Now the French socialist delegation of the European Parliament, including Sylvie Guillaume, Vice President of the European Parliament, Pervenche Berès and Christine Revault d'Allones, seek to erase all references to the French surveillance bill from the report.

These MEPs have convinced the S&D (Socialist & Democrats) group to ask for a separate vote on the paragraph. The paragraph will therefore be divided into four items :

  • Is concerned at some of the recent laws in some Member States that extend surveillance capabilities of intelligence bodies
  • including, in France, the new intelligence law adopted by the National Assembly on 24 June 2015, several provisions of which, according to the Commission, raise important legal questions, in the UK, the adoption of the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act 2014 and the subsequent court decision that certain articles were unlawful and to be disapplied, and, in the Netherlands, the proposals for new legislation to update the Intelligence and Security Act of 2002;
  • reiterates its call on all Member States to ensure that their current and future legislative frameworks and oversight mechanisms governing the activities of intelligence agencies are in line with the standards of the European Convention on Human Rights and all relevant Union legislation;
  • asks the Commission to launch without delay an assessment of all provisions of the French intelligence law and to determine its compliance with European primary and secondary law;

Les socialistes français espèrent ainsi obtenir plus facilement le retrait de l'allusion à la France. Ils espèrent aussi et surtout supprimer la dernière partie qui incite la Commission européenne à enquêter sur la législation française. La délégation socialiste française compte sur le PPE (groupe populaire européen - Démocrates-Chrétiens) pour appuyer le vote et obtenir une majorité.

A transparent vote

The European Parliament vote on the French socialists' amendments will be a roll call vote [not sure about the parliamentary procedure vocab]. Each vote will thus be recorded, and the list of MEPs who vote to hide the abuses of certain States, including France, will be published.

With this kind of maneuver, one can only wonder what the French socialists have to hide!

See also

See also the analysis by Philippe Aigrain.

Act

  • Call the MEPs from the S&D and the PPE
  • Write to the MEPs from the S&D and the PPE