EU-US trade negotiations must be more transparent, as concerns are raised about clash with data protection rules
Out-Law.com | 08 Jan 2015
EU-US trade negotiations must be more transparent, as concerns are raised about clash with data protection rules
The European Commission must take "further steps" to increase transparency in relation to ongoing negotiations over a new EU-US trade agreement, a watchdog has said.
On Wednesday the Commission launched a new transparency initiative relating to the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). It published a range of documents setting out the Commission’s negotiating position on various TTIP chapters, in addition to further factsheets that seek to address concerns about the impact the agreement will have.
However, the European Ombudsman said the Commission must do more to "increase the legitimacy of the negotiations in the eyes of the public". Emily O’Reilly said the Commission should "establish a comprehensive list of public and non-public TTIP documents". Among her other recommendations, she said other documents, including the agenda and minutes of meetings with lobbyists, should also be made available for public scrutiny.
"The Commission has made real efforts to make the TTIP negotiations more transparent," O’Reilly said. "I am aware that the Commission at times needs to talk to the US confidentially to be able to negotiate effectively. However, US resistance to publishing certain TTIP documents is not in itself sufficient to keep them from the European public. The Commission has to ensure at all times that exceptions to the EU citizens’ fundamental right to get access to documents are well-founded and fully justified."
The European Ombudsman had previously called on the EU institutions to be more transparent about negotiations on TTIP.
Talks between the EU and US representatives on the contents of the new TTIP began in July 2013. The Commission has said TTIP is aimed at "removing trade barriers in a wide range of economic sectors to make it easier to buy and sell goods and services between the EU and the US".
In one of the new factsheets it has published, the Commission sought to allay fears that the new TTIP agreement would undermine EU citizens’ data protection rights (2-page / 74KB PDF).
The Commission said: "Data protection standards won’t be part of TTIP negotiations. TTIP will make sure that the EU’s data protection laws prevail over any commitments."
In addition to TTIP, EU negotiators are also engaged in discussions with the US and a number of other countries, including Australia, Canada and South Korea, about another prospective trade deal, the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA).
A document apparently detailing the US negotiating position on part of TISA was leaked (7-page / 98KB PDF) late last year. It contained draft provisions which would generally prevent countries signed up to the agreement from placing restrictions forcing businesses "to purchase, use or accord a preference to … computing facilities located in its territory or computer processing or storage services supplied from within its territory".
The draft TISA provisions would also prevent countries placing certain restrictions on overseas transfers of personal data.
"No Party may prevent a service supplier of another Party from transferring, accessing, processing or storing information, including personal information, within or outside the Party’s territory, where such activity is carried out in connection with the conduct of the service supplier’s business," the leaked document said.
However, Viviane Reding, the former EU justice commissioner and now rapporteur on TISA for the European Parliament’s trade committee, said she would "oppose any provision undermining right to data privacy".
In a new draft opinion (4-page / 87KB PDF) published by the Parliament’s committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), MEP Jan Philipp Albrecht expressed concern about the TISA proposals.
"Personal data can be transferred outside the Union only if the provisions on third-country transfers in EU data protection laws are respected," the draft opinion said. "The Commission can only negotiate on provisions which touch upon the flow of personal data provided that the full application of EU data protection rules is guaranteed. [The LIBE committee] is seriously concerned about the TiSA draft text, which would completely undermine all EU rules and safeguards for the transfer of personal data to third countries."
The draft opinion said that the TISA agreement must not undermine EU rules on data transfers which generally prohibit "the processing of such data in third countries if they do not meet the EU adequacy standard".
Under EU data protection laws, the transfer of personal data from the EU to so-called ’third’ countries is governed by strict rules designed to ensure the adequate protection of EU citizens’ privacy in accordance with EU data protection standards even when that data is held outside of the trading bloc.
Useful Links
– The European Commission’s TTIP transparency initiative
– The European Ombudsman recommendations
– The leaked draft TISA provisions (7-page / 98KB PDF)
– The LIBE draft opinion (4-page / 87KB PDF)
