The European Parliament has passed a resolution in response to the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance scandal. The resolution calls for the suspension of the U.S. – EU Safe Harbour Framework immediately, unless the U.S. satisfies the concerns of the EU Parliament.
However, the Parliament’s resolution does not affect the validity of the Safe Harbour Framework. Only the Commission can renegotiate the Safe Harbour Framework. Last year, the Commission issued 13 recommendations to improve the functioning of the Safe Harbour scheme, and called upon U.S. authorities to remedy these issues by summer 2014 (see previous blog for further discussion). The Commission will then review whether the shortcomings of the Safe Harbour scheme have been addressed adequately, and decide whether to maintain, suspend or revoke the scheme.
European Parliament Resolution