Eleventh Annual Report [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE ARTICLE 29 DATA PROTECTION WORKING PARTYTechnological and economic developments lead to more and more comprehensive data processing in increasingly complex IT systems. At the same time, intensified co-operation between EU IVlember States contributes significantly to cross-border processing of personal data, for example in connection with the EU Services Directive.Furthermore, initiatives launched by the Council or the Commission aimed at improving the fight against terrorism and crime have an impact on the processing of personal data in the internal Market For example, if - in accordance with Directive 2006/24/EC - telecommunications and Internet service providers are required to retain traffic data for later use or if air carriers are obliged to transfer passenger data which they collect and store for providing their own services.Therefore, it Is little wonder that in 2007 European Data Protection Authorities also had to deal with numerous challenges, but also accomplished major tasks. Thus, the Article 29 Working Party adopted 17 opinions. Moreover the Working Party elaborated and published other documents on important data protection related issues.Of particular importance was the highly debated processing of passenger data collected by air carriers for law enforcement purposes. The Article 29 Working Party took a very critical stance on the negotiations about an EU-US PNR Agreement and was also outspoken when, in November 2007 the Commission presented Its own model aimed at introducing a similar PNR regime within the EU.The Article 29 Working Party made an important contribution to the interpretation of the concept of "personal data" within the meaning of Directive 95/46/EC. it addressed the arduous but vital topic of Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs) in order to speed up the coordination procedure among data protection authorities, and following lengthy debates it convinced the SWIFT company, which was criticised because of the access of US authorities to data on international money transfer to change its data processing method and data transfers by setting up a new operational centre In Europe.Some key areas are set out below:A major activity of the Article 29 Working Party in the year covered by this report was the 1" Data Protection Day held on January 28, the anniversary of the adoption of the European Convention 108 by the Council of Europe in 1981.Jointly proclaimed by the EU data protection authorities and the Council of Europe, numerous activities were launched together with parliamentarians, politicians and NGOs across Europe. Informing European citizens, raising awareness among youngsters and exploring the challenges for an effective protection of privacy were at the heart of all those endeavours. Open doors, panel discussions, meetings with high ranking government officials and wide media coverage underlined the importance of data protection in the light of the latest EU proposals and industry initiatives threatening the privacy of our citizens.A thorough evaluarion of all actlviries related to the European Data Protection Day aimed at exchanging experiences among data protection authorities and showing best practices will help to perform even better in 2008 and the years ahead.of the Article 29 Working Party on Data Protection