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Temporary Committee on the ECHELON Interception System

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The Temporary Committee on ECHELON was a Committee of the European Parliament that was set up to investigate the global surveillance network ECHELON.[1]

History

On 15 June 2000, the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament proposed setting up a temporary committee on the ECHELON interception system. The goals of the commitee were to confirm the existence of ECHELON and to to assess the compatibility of such a system with European law.[2]

Final report

In 2001, the commitee concluded that the ECHELON surveillance system "almost certainly" existed, but it also acknowledged that beyond stepping up diplomatic pressure on the Five Eyes to abide by privacy laws, there is not much that the European Union could do to evade their surveillance.[3]

In its final report, the committee noted the following two features of the ECHELON surveillance network that is described as "unusual":

The first such feature attributed to it is the capacity to carry out quasi-total surveillance. Satellite receiver stations and spy satellites in particular are alleged to give it the ability to intercept any telephone, fax, Internet or e-mail message sent by any individual and thus to inspect its contents. The second unusual feature of ECHELON is said to be that the system operates worldwide on the basis of cooperation proportionate to their capabilities among several states (the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand), giving it an added value in comparison to national systems: the states participating in ECHELON (UKUSA states) can place their interception systems at each other’s disposal, share the cost and make joint use of the resulting information.[4]

Controversy

The committee was first proposed by the European Green Party. However, the original plan was scrapped due to opposition from major political groups in the European Parliament.[5] According to critics, the committee has been unable to fully investigate the ECHELON system.[6]

References

  1. ^ Ruuda, Marit (16 May 2001). "Echelon committee suspicions grow". EUobserver. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  2. ^ "Setting up a temporary committee on the ECHELON interception system". European Parliament. 29 June 2000. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  3. ^ Leyden, John (6 July 2001). "Europe should tackle home-grown Echelons, says MEP". The Register. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  4. ^ "Report on the existence of a global system for the interception of private and commercial communications (ECHELON interception system) (2001/2098(INI))". European Parliament. 11 July 2001. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  5. ^ Buuren, Jelle (5 July 2000). "European Parliament votes against inquiry committee on Echelon". Heise Online. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  6. ^ Buuren, Jelle (09 June 2000). "Greens: European Parliament is obstructing inquiry on Echelon". Heise Online. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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