Activites

• 1998/01/30 Final act published in Official Journal
  • Directive 1997/66
  • OJ L 024 30.01.1998, p. 0001
• 1997/12/15 Final act signed
• 1997/12/15 End of procedure in Parliament
• #2054
• 1997/12/01 Council Meeting
• 1997/11/20 Decision by Parliament, 3rd reading
  • T4-0566/1997 summary

    In adopting the report by Mr Manuel MEDINA ORTEGA (PSE, E), the European Parliament has approved the joint draft of the Conciliation Committee on the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the telecommunications sector. The agreement covers telephone tapping and makes provision for guaranteeing the confidentiality of communications whilst ensuring that public order and national security are not jeopardized. It has also been agreed that operators should not charge subscribers for omitting them from the directory, with the exception of administrative costs actually incurred. Finally, there is agreement on the degree of protection that must be offered to all subscribers with regard to unsolicited calls such as those made for the purpose of direct marketing. �

• 1997/11/19 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament summary

    The rapporteur underlined that the agreement reached between Parliament and the Council had resulted in a text which covered phone-tapping and laid down provisions to guarantee the confidentiality of communications, while ensuring that public order and national security were not compromised. Commissioner Monti considered that protecting private life in a rapidly evolving telecommunications sector could not be left to subsidiarity and that Community legislation was therefore essential.

• 1997/11/12 Report tabled for plenary, 3rd reading
  • A4-0361/1997
• 1997/11/06 Joint text approved by Conciliation Committee co-chairs
  • 3626/1997
• 1997/11/05 Final decision by Conciliation Committee
• 1997/09/24 Formal meeting of Conciliation Committee
• #1995
• 1997/03/19 Council Meeting
• 1997/01/16 Decision by Parliament, 2nd reading
  • T4-0011/1997 summary

    In approving the recommendation for second reading by Mr Manuel MEDINA ORTEGA (PSE, E) Parliament amended the Council's common position on the proposal for a directive concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the telecommunications sector. Parliament considered that the new text should also apply to the protection of the legitimate interests of the subscribers/legal persons and not only the natural persons. As the telecommunications networks and services are of a transnational nature the report gives an interpretation of the subsidiarity principle which limits the Member States' margin for manoeuvre. Several amendments have been adopted on these lines. Another significant amendment deletes the possibility for the Member States to allow operators to require a payment from subscribers if they do not wish their particulars to appear in a directory. �

• 1997/01/15 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 1996/12/18 Vote in committee, 2nd reading
  • A4-0415/1996
• 1996/09/19 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 2nd reading
• #1946
• 1996/09/17 Council Meeting
• 1996/09/12 Council position published
  • 08937/1/1996 summary

    The Council adopted its common position on the proposal for a Directive concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the telecommunications sector, in particular in the integrated services digital networks (ISDN) and in the public digital mobile networks. The adoption of various new legislative acts over the past two years necessitated an alignment of the proposal for a Directive on the general Directive on the protection of personal data (Directive 95/46/EC) and influenced the incorporation of the amendments adopted by Parliament: - the scope of the Directive is reduced and only covers public telecommunications services; - the definitions have been amended so as to be better adapted to the new realities of the market, in which concepts such as 'telecommunications organizations' and 'exclusive and special rights' are no longer current; - certain requirements of the Directive have been amended so that their implementation should not depend on a specific technology, in order to achieve the maximum scope; - the Article on directories of subscribers has been retained and supplemented by two new options. Also, the right to be omitted from the directory may now be departed from. Whilst dealing with the fundamental rights of natural persons, and in particular their right to privacy, the common position also aims at protecting the legitimate interests of legal persons. Its provisions include: - security of services and networks; - confidentiality of communications; - traffic and billing data (revised to take account of the general Directive); - the right to receive non-itemized bills; - presentation and restriction of calling and connected line identification; - automatic call-forwarding; - personal data contained in directories of subscribers; - unsolicited calls for purposes of direct marketing. The time limit for transposition of the Directive would be the same as for the general Directive on the protection of personal data, i.e. 24 October 1998. �

• #1941
• 1996/06/27 Council Meeting
• 1994/06/16 Modified legislative proposal published
  • COM(1994)0128 summary

    This amended proposal was the result of Parliament's opinion and a new approach with regard to subsidiarity. It was thus greatly simplified in comparison to the initial proposal, avoiding the requirement for technical solutions from the Member States and enabling them greater flexibility in its implementation. Moreover, a clear distinction was made between the protection of subscribers and the protection of users, and provisions were included on legal recourse and the penalties applied in cases of violation of the directive. Finally, with a view to aligning the terminology with the text of the amended proposal on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and in order to ensure the free flow of this data, which supplemented this proposal, as well as to avoid any overlap, several provisions were redrafted or referred back to this text. �

• 1993/12/02 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T3-0681/1993 summary

    In its first reading under the codecision procedure, the European Parliament confirmed its vote of 11 March 1992. �

• 1993/11/23 Committee report tabled for plenary confirming Parliament's position
  • A3-0364/1993
• 1993/11/23 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
• 1992/03/11 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T3-0141/1992 summary

• 1992/02/10 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 1990/10/12 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 1990/09/24 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(1990)0314 summary

    This draft directive seeks to ensure an equivalent level of protection of privacy for individuals throughout the EU. It involves the processing of personal data by telecommunications organizations in the context of public digital telecommunications networks in the Community. This may only be used for specific telecommunications purposes. Subscribers have the right to know which personal data are stored, to have the data corrected or deleted and to prevent this data from being divulged without authorization. Many of the provisions relate to detailed invoicing, the right to anonymity, the protection of subscribers from unsolicited calls and the protection of subscribers to teleshopping and video-tex lines from unauthorized use of their personal data. �

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(1990)0314
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T3-0141/1992
• Committee report tabled for plenary confirming Parliament's position: A3-0364/1993
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T3-0681/1993
• Modified legislative proposal published: COM(1994)0128
• Council position published: 08937/1/1996
• Committee recommendation tabled for plenary, 2nd reading: A4-0415/1996
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 2nd reading: T4-0011/1997
• Joint text approved by Conciliation Committee co-chairs: 3626/1997
• Report tabled for plenary, 3rd reading: A4-0361/1997
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 3rd reading: T4-0566/1997
• : Directive 1997/66
• : OJ L 024 30.01.1998, p. 0001

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)