Echelon Committee presents work programme

Committee will use "the strength of persuasion and influence" to obtain information on Echelon

Last week, the temporary committee on Echelon of the European Parliament that investigates the existence of the Echelon spy network, started its deliberations. In a two-day session held in Brussels, the committee spoke with António Vitorino, the European Commissioner responsible for justice and home affairs, and with Erkki Liikanen, the commissioner responsible for the information society. The committee also agreed on a work programme.

When asked if he thought Echelon actually existed, Vitorino answered: 'I believe in God and Echelon, but have never met either.' Liikanen also refused to answer directly to the question. He only said that the technology, which would enable such activities to be carried out, existed.

Vitorino stressed the need of the harmonisation of national laws governing wiretapping and data surveillance. But he added that the activities of intelligence agencies are the responsibility of the national states. The European Union has no powers in this field.

Liikanen stressed that dataprotection was dependent on the design and use of reliable encryption systems. He announced the Commission was considering the adjustment of existing data protection rules, to cover electronic communication as well. Liikanen refused the idea of setting up a taskforce within the Commission to deal with Echelon. He preferred to leave the initiative with Parliaments temporary committee. The committee adopted the work programme presented by its rapporteur, Gerhard Schmid (Socialist Group). In the programme, Schmid states the committee will act 'to its fullest' to ensure that the maximum possible information is obtained. As the committee has little legal powers, it will have to 'use the strength of persuasion and influence' to obtain the information.

First, the committee wants to check what is known with certainty about the Echelon system. 'The information presented in the STOA report has to be examined for plausibility and the facts on which it is based. Every single point of information on the existence, the functioning and the purpose of the Echelon system will have to be examined,' the work programme says.

For that reason, the committee will examine existing documentation from the US Congress and other sources. The committee will also examine the legal framework according to which the USA have been allowed to establish and use interception facilities in European countries.

Further, the committee is going to investigate the existence of intelligence agencies in the Member States of the European Union, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand that deal with signal intelligence, and how the co-operation between these agencies is organised. The committee also wants to investigate how these agencies are being controlled and how effective this control is.

The committee will further examine the possibilities of the interception of communication systems and their infrastructure, and if interception is possible without the co-operation from providers. The committee wants to know how 'widely used the practice of interception is, which other activities of interception, other than Echelon, can be identified, which developments have taken place regarding interception systems and which is their technical potential in the light of the internet explosion, is the European Union involved and which international co-ordinating organisms exists.'

As regarding to encryption, the committee wants to examine to what extent authorities have to be able to break into encrypted communication, how secure encryption is and if it is possible to establish an 'early recognition system' that will assure that encryption systems in use are still updated and safe.

The committee is going to organise a discussion with the European Commission, the European Council, the European Central Bank and representatives of some selected companies from various Member States on economic espionage. 'A discussion should take place with possible targets of economic espionage about their risk evaluation and the measures they have taken to protect themselves,' the work programme says. Also, the committee wants to know which legal regulations for economic espionage exists, which techniques are being used and what importance signal intelligence has for economic espionage.

Finally, the committee will address legal questions regarding interception and privacy. It will examine if existing treaties, like the European Human Rights Convention, or other legal rules, like the coming European Charter of fundamental rights, offer possibilities to safeguard the privacy. The committee wants to investigate the possibility of establishing international rules on economic espionage in the framework of the WTO, and if it is possible to develop in co-operation with the USA global rules on what forms of interception are legitimate.