23.4.2008 Official Journal of the European Union L 111/11 (Acts adopted under the EC Treaty/Euratom Treaty whose publication is not obligatory) DECISIONS COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 25 March 2008 setting up the Platform on Electronic Data Retention for the Investigation, Detection and Prosecution of Serious Crime’ group of experts (2008/324[EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Whereas: Directive 2006/24/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 15 March 2006 on the retention of data generated or processed in connection with the provision of publicly available electronic communications services or of public communications networks (') (the Data Retention Directive) aims to harmonise Member States’ provisions concerning the obligations of providers of publicly available electronic communications services or of public communications networks with respect to the retention of certain data which are generated or processed by them in order to ensure that such data are available for the purpose of the investi- gation, detection and prosecution of serious crime. The preamble to the Data Retention Directive notes that technologies relating to electronic communications are changing rapidly and that legitimate requirements of competent authorities may evolve. In order to obtain advice and encourage the sharing of best practice in all matters relating to the retention of personal data, the Commission intends to establish a group composed of Member States’ law enforcement authorities, associations of the electronic communications industry, represen- tatives of the European Parliament and data protection authorities including the European Data Protection Supervisor. () O] L 105, 13.4.2006, p. 54. G) Article 14 of the Data Retention Directive states that no later than 15 September 2010, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and Council an evaluation of the application of the Directive and its impact on economic operators and consumers, taking into account further developments in electronic commu- nications technology and statistics provided to the Commission on retention of data. The evaluation should help determine whether it is necessary to amend the Data Retention Directive, in particular with regard to the list of data in Article 5 and the periods of retention provided for in Article 6 of the Directive. On 10 February 2006 the Council and the Commission issued a Joint Statement in relation to evaluation of the Data Retention Directive. This stated that the Commission will invite relevant stakeholders to regular review meetings to exchange information about techno- logical developments, costs and effectiveness of appli- cation of the Directive. The Joint Statement says that during this process Member States will be invited to inform partners of their experiences in implementing the Directive and to share best practice. The Joint Statement further says that on the basis of these discussions ‘the Commission will consider presenting any necessary proposals, including with regard to any difficulties which may have emerged for Member States in relation to the technical and practical implementation of the Directive, in particular its application to Internet e-mail and Internet telephony data’. For the reasons indicated above it is necessary to set up a group of experts in the field of data retention drawn from the stakeholders referred to in Recital 14 of the Data Retention Directive.