September 1 7, 2014 Brussels
Brussels - capital of the European Union (EU). It is good to know French for easy communication. City has big French and Flemish Communities.
By: Jurij Ivanov
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September 1 7, 2014 Brussels - Video
The European Union is finally moving to replace its data protection supervisor, after Members of the European Parliament interviewed the five candidates shortlisted for the roles of EU data protection supervisor and assistant supervisor on Monday.
A parliamentary committee is set to name its favorites for the posts on Tuesday evening, with one MEP on the committee tipping a Frenchman and a Pole for the roles based on their interview performances.
Replacing the supervisor is particularly important because the EU is in the middle of a data protection reform and the next European Commission, which is set to take its seat on Nov. 1, is planning to finalize negotiations on the EU's new data protection package within six months.
The EU is taking its time to find a replacement for Peter Hustinx, the current European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS). Hustinx was set to end his five year tenure on Jan. 16. and retire, but had to stay on when the European Commission was unable to find a candidate with the right qualities for the job.
On Monday night, the Parliamentary Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) spent three hours interviewing the five shortlisted candidates: Yann Padova and Nolle Lenoir standing for the post of data protection supervisor; Giovanni Buttarelli, standing for the posts of supervisor and assistant supervisor, and Cinzia Bondi and Wojciech RafaB Wiewirowski, standing for assistant supervisor.
The candidates answered questions about topics including the new data protection package, while also being asked how they would deal with external data protection deals such as the Safe Harbor data-sharing agreement with the U.S., said MEP Sophie in 't Veld, who attended the meeting. Candidates were also asked about the court ruling that gave European citizens the "right to be forgotten" by search engines, and about how they would deal with online surveillance issues, she said.
All were pretty strong candidates, but two stood out, In 't Veld said. While she wouldn't say who she favored, one of her fellow committee members, Jan Philipp Albrecht, an MEP for the Greens, wasn't so hesitant.
"The candidates who performed best were the Polish data protection officer Wiewirowski and the candidate from France, Padova," Albrecht said, adding that he thought most of the LIBE committee agreed with him.
Padova was secretary-general of the French data protection authority, CNIL, between 2006 and 2012 and has worked as a data protection lawyer at an international law firm since then.
In his letter of application, Padova stressed the importance of an independent data protection supervisor. "The economic dimension of data protection is now more relevant than ever," he said, adding that personal data is the economy's new "black gold." He promised to be a fair and pragmatic yet firm supervisor if he got the job.
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Candidates for EU's data protection job heard by the European Parliament
European Union foreign ministers agreed Monday to appoint an Ebola coordinator to bring together resources and funding to tackle the deadly disease before it becomes a global disaster.
"My colleagues all agree that the idea of an Ebola coordinator is a good one," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters after a meeting with EU counterparts in Luxembourg.
"The person will be named in the coming days," added Fabius.
The coordinator will be based at the EU's Emergency Response Coordination Centre in Brussels.
The leaders of the 28 EU nations will meet on Thursday and Friday at a summit in Brussels where Ebola will be a major concern, having taken more than 4,500 lives in the worst affected west African countries, while also showing up in the United States and Europe.
The EU move comes three days after US President Barack Obama named attorney Ron Klain as the new White House "Ebola czar" to coordinate the US response to the outbreak.
With a fatality rate running at 70 percent and no known cure or vaccine, world leaders are rushing to get ahead of Ebola before it can establish a foothold outside Africa.
Appointing an EU coordinator is an important step "because everybody has to be on board to fight this epidemic," Fabius said.
The mounting death toll in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea is cause for grave concern, with the "figures rising... exponentially", he added.
Earlier Monday, the World Health Organization declared Nigeria - Africa's most populous country - Ebola-free, showing what can be done if action is taken promptly.
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Nigeria: European Union Names Ebola Coordinator
PARIS
European Union foreign ministers have called for more money, more coordination and more health workers on the ground to respond to the Ebola crisis in West Africa. EU leaders will consider a pledging goal of $1.27 billion for Ebola when they meet later this week.
In a statement following their meeting Monday in Brussels, European Union foreign ministers called for a "united, coordinated and increased effort" to contain the Ebola outbreak, which has killed more than 4,500 people to date - most of them in West Africa.
European foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton spoke to reporters after the meeting.
"[We] recognize that Ebola represents an unprecedented crisis that requires an unprecedented response," she said. "We've already seen the pledging of the EU and its member states of over 500 million euros in assistance to the fight against Ebola and recognize the need to make an increased effort in close cooperation with the United Nations."
The goal today: doubling that assistance to about $1.27 billion. European Union leaders will discuss reaching that target when they meet later this week.
The foreign ministers also agreed on the need to boost the numbers of European health workers sent to the most affected African countries. One option is to set up a pool of volunteer experts, with guarantees they will be provided appropriate care if needed.
And Ashton said the EU was considering appointing an 'Ebola czar' of sorts, to coordinate the bloc's response.
"What I'm very keen is that we've worked out precisely what they're going to do, what their terms of reference will be," she said. "And as I said at the meeting is that we need to do that swiftly, because this is a situation that requires now a fast response."
With several Ebola cases so far in Europe, the 28-member bloc also wants to boost its own defenses against the virus. But the ministers rejected barring flights from West Africa as a way to stop Ebola's spread. However, France, Belgium and Britain have established airport screening procedures for incoming flights from the region.
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Europe Vows to Step Up Aid for Ebola Crisis
European Union and Chinese government strike a deal to end an investigation into whether Chinese telecom equipment makers, including Huawei and ZTE, received illegal subsidies.
Imports of Chinese telecom equipment into the EU are worth over 1 billion euros a year, according to the EU. JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images
The European Union and the Chinese government have settled a year-long dispute over the possibility of Chinese telecommunications companies receiving illegal subsidies to compete more effectively in Europe.
The EU and China met at a regular Joint Committee over the weekend and discussed issues the EU had raised about Chinese telecommunications companies, including whether equipment makers Huawei and ZTE had received illegal subsidies. Last year, the EU launched an investigation to determine whether certain European companies and Chinese companies worked together to bring telecommunications gear to their markets at a cheaper price. The investigation focused on equipment carriers need to build out mobile networks and provide wireless service, and not consumer equipment, such as phones and modems.
The investigation ended with an "amicable" settlement between the countries.
"The EU pursues every opportunity to level out the playing field for our companies by engaging with our strategic partners including China," said Karel De Gucht, EU trade commissioner, in a statement on Monday. "The concerns that have led us to launch the case last May can now be addressed in a systematic and regular dialogue between the two sides for the benefit of our industry."
Huawei and ZTE provide telecommunications equipment to countries across the Euro zone, and imports of Chinese telecom gear into the EU are worth over 1 billion euros a year, according to the EU. While the two companies have seen their telecommunications equipment largely banned from the US due to concerns it could be used by the Chinese government to spy on companies and individuals, Huawei and ZTE have grown fast in the EU.
The European Union was especially concerned with Huawei's meteoric growth in the European telecoms market, according to a document obtained by Reuters. In 2006, the company held just 2.5 percent share. As of this writing, its market share is at 25 percent and growing fast.
The EU argued that the only way Huawei could have grown so rapidly is through its subsidies. Huawei, however, said it has received no illegal subsidies and believes its success is partly due to cheaper pricing and partly due to its products.
Under the terms of the deal signed between China and the EU, an independent body will monitor the telecoms networks market to ensure no illegal activity is ongoing. European companies can also access China's standard-setting body and all firms will receive equal treatment in competitive bids, said the EU.
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EU drops investigation into Chinese telecoms