"The majority, on the one hand, has chosen to highlight the probable if not certain, but not documented, existence of the Anglo-Saxon system called Echelon; on the other hand, it censured the fact that Germany and Holland possess and use the same technology ("systematic and at random interceptions filtered by a search engine"). A majority that – though certain about the existence of Echelon - "forgets" however to sanction United Kingdom accused to play a double game with its European partners.

A majority that echoes a presumed violation of European industry economic interests while it "forgets" that some Member States usually intercept citizens of other Member States in defiance of "european citizenship". Therefore Industry must be defended by Europe and the citizen, on the contrary, left in the hands of his own country that, in the name of national security, can freely intercept citizens of other Member States and abandon its own citizens at the mercy of the European partners’ secret services.

In the explanatory statement, we can read between the lines the wish to see the "bad job" entrusted to a European Secret Service (Eurosecr?), as it has already been done with police (Europol) and judges (Eurojust). In this way citizens and thus also firms, some firms of some countries, will be put at the mercy of secret services of Third countries and Member States and of the EU ones.

Our minority opinion – that will be annexed to the Committee Report – has 200 words as conceded by EP rules of procedure. Of course it does not contain all that ought to be said and that we will say during the debate to be hold in the plenary session of September".

ECHELON REPORT

MINORITY OPINION of Maurizio Turco (Lista Emma Bonino)

A. While has been brought to the fore the probable existence of a Anglo-Saxon system based on "systematic and at random interceptions filtered through a search engine", the fact that these technological capacity is certainly used by Germany and Holland - and probably by France – has been missed out. Therefore – as secret services in the name of national security intercept without authorization foreign communications – some Member States snoop on the activities of other Member States institutions, citizens and firms.

B. The development of cryptography, even if it favours the protection of privacy, also entails the development of deciphering’s technical and legal means, according to the indissoluble link between development of cryptografic, crypto-analytic systems and interception techniques.

C. The solutions should thus be found in the political field:

- through a juridictional and parliamentary control on interception and surveillance activities of police, security and secret services;

- to put at end the proliferation of regulatory bodies (Schengen, Europol, the Customs Convention, etc.) working with different standards of protection and free of any real democratic and judicial scrutiny.

- regulating – following the highest standard and the jurisprudence of the ECHR – the protection of European citizens privacy regarding the preventive intrusions of State control authorities and eliminating the current discriminations within the EU between citizens of different Member States.