Next Monday evening,
Europe’s data protection policy wonks will be focussing their attention on the
actions of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and
Home Affairs. Finally, members of this Committee will get to vote on how they
think they draft the Data Protection Regulation should be amended. Someone will
have decided beforehand which of the 3-4,000 amendments that were proposed will
actually be put before the Committee.
Monday will
be a big day.
And so you
might have thought that the Committee members will be given an opportunity to
carefully consider the amendments that will actually be tabled, in order that
they can make considered decisions on whether to support or oppose them.
There is a tinsy
winsy problem, though.
My sources
tell me that very few people have seen the critical amendments,
so it’s not entirely clear how the Committee members will be able to consider them properly before
Monday’s vote. Nor do these amendments appear to have been leaked. Even Statewatch
doesn’t seem to have published them on its website yet.
Will this
matter? Well, it depends on whether we think that politicians should understand
just what it is they are voting on, and fully appreciate the implications for
Europe if particular proposals are tweaked (or dumped).
What seems
clear is that there will be a vote and that something will emerge from this committee
session.
But whether it’s in a form that the Council of Europe could possibly find common interest with, I really couldn’t say.
We can all expect
the data protection news drums to be beating fast and loud next week. The usual
suspects will be offering their views on what has emerged, and the prospects of
common agreement being reached on a data protection package before the European
elections in May 2014.
Image credit:
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