VP Reding had met with U.S. attorney general Eric Holder on Friday at the EU-U.S. Ministerial meeting held in Dublin, Ireland. Previously, the commissioner had sent a letter to Holder asking for information on recent revelations of NSA spying, and how it affected citizens of the 27-national European Union bloc who use Internet services from U.S. firms.
At the meeting, the two delegations agreed to quickly convene a meeting of EU-U.S. experts to look into the "PRISM" revelations and the safeguards available for EU citizens. Reding also called for intensified efforts to reach an EU-U.S. data protection agreement that would provide equal protections for citizens of both regions.
"The concept of national security does not mean that "anything goes": States do not enjoy an unlimited right of secret surveillance," Reding said in a statement.
"In Europe, even in cases involving national security, every individual – irrespective of their nationality – can go to a Court, national or European, if they believe that their right to privacy or to data protection has been infringed. I have made my point clearly: this is what I want for European citizens also in the US."
Written by: James Delahunty @ 15 Jun 2013 13:57
