Examination of Witness (Questions 38-39)
Rt Hon Baroness Ashton of Upholland
7 MARCH 2007
Chairman: Minister, thank you for agreeing
to come to answer one or two questions on the Prüm Convention.
This is on the record and you will be sent a transcript in due
course. Lord Caithness, would you please ask our first questions.
Q38 Earl of Caithness: Minister,
in the Prüm Convention there are different data protection
provisions from any other instrument within the EU and yet the
Presidency is seeking to incorporate the Prüm Convention
within the EU unamended. Are you content that this should happen?
How are we going to change it if you are not?
Baroness Ashton of Upholland: It has already
been amended it from the original. One example is that they have
taken out the hot pursuit aspect of it because a number of Member
States were concerned that hot pursuit across their borders was
not necessarily what they wanted under the control of another
police force. Discussions are still on-going as to exactly how
it will turn out. We have an officials meeting on 9 March in Germany
which will continue those discussions.
Q39 Earl of Caithness: Will the Government
press ahead with negotiations on the Data Protection Framework
Decision? If and when it is agreed, will its provisions supersede
the data protection provisions of the Prüm Decision and in
fact other ones?
Baroness Ashton of Upholland: Yes, we are pursuing
the Data Protection Framework Decision discussions. It is important
that we conclude those if and when we can. I would describe the
Prüm protection within the treaty as what I call DPFD Plus.
In other words, the way that we have approached the Data Protection
Framework Decision is to say it is the minimum you can do but
you can do more. As Data Protection Minister frankly that is I
think where we should be. The difference you will see in the Prüm
Treaty is that they have provided for tighter data protection
within that Treaty than would be required in the Framework Decision.
That feels right to me because the Framework Decision has to set
out the principles; it has to be a general decision about what
is going to happen. However, I think when you come to negotiate
individual things for particular reasons you might want to make
protection stronger and tighter and that is all to the good if
that is relevant. That is what we have, DPFD and DPFD Plus.
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