EC Says Bulgarian Surveillance Legislation Complies with EU Standards
The European Commission (EC) finds that the Bulgarian legislation complies with the EU standards for respecting human rights in the use of surveillance, Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs said at a plenary meeting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg late on Tuesday.
The MEPs met to heard and debate a statement by the EC on the significant increase in wiretapping in Bulgaria in 2010 and on personal data protection. The EC position was presented by Piepalgs after questions were submitted by MEPs of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) and of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats.
The MEPs expected the EC to say whether or not the wiretapping of telephone conversations in Bulgaria is a violation of the Bulgarian Constitution, the Lisbon Treaty, the European Charter for Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Piepalgs said that it is the responsibility of the Bulgarian authorities to guarantee the observation of human rights. He added that the EC has been informed that a leak of surveillance information to the press is currently being probed and that the Commission will continue to observe compliance with the EU law in this area. The debates continued into the late night. No resolution is expected to be adopted. sourse BTA