WRITTEN QUESTION No. 501/98 by Elly PLOOIJ-VAN GORSEL to the Council. Monitoring of European telephone, fax and e- mail traffic by the US
C 196/126 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 22. 6. 98 Although there is no EU arms embargo as such against Burundi, Member States act in accordance with the Common Criteria defined in the conclusions of the European Councils of 29 June 1991 and 26-27 June 1992, on the basis of which the Amsterdam European Council (16-17 June 1997) called for renewed and sustained attention in the framework of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) to developing a responsible and coherent arms export policy throughout the Union. In the case of Burundi the competent national authorities do not grant licences for arms exports. If arms do reach Burundi from or via a Member State, the case is investigated by the relevant national authorities. The Council will continue to follow the situation in Burundi and the Great Lakes Region closely, including the issue of arms transfers. (98/C 196/177) WRITTEN QUESTION P-0501/98 by Elly Plooij-van Gorsel (ELDR) to the Council (17 February 1998) Subject: Monitoring of European telephone, fax and e-mail traffic by the US Is the Council aware of the substance of the report commissioned by the European Parliament entitled: An 1. Appraisal of Technologies of Political Controlí? Is it true that the United States systematically monitor telephone, fax, e-mail and telex traffic in the Member 2. States of the European Union? 3. Is it true that the United Kingdom serves as a relay station for this activity? If so, does this occur with the knowledge and agreement of the other Member States of the European Union? Might the President of the Council be able to throw some light on the matter? 4. Did large-scale monitoring of communications channels take place during the GATT and WTO negotiating rounds and during the conclusion of the Basic Telecoms Agreement? If so, to what extent has this had an adverse effect on the European Unionís position, and to what extent has this damaged the commercial interests of European businesses? Answer (30 April 1998) The report referred to in point 1 has not been officially transmitted to the Council. The Council is not aware of the matters mentioned by the Honourable Member in points 2, 3 and 4