La crise financière a souligné la nécessité d’harmoniser les règles sur le fonctionnement des marchés financiers, une source essentielle de financement dans l’économie d’aujourd’hui. L’UE s’efforce en particulier d’améliorer activement l’obligation de rendre compte des établissements financiers et la transparence des marchés financiers, tout en luttant contre l’évasion fiscale et le blanchiment. Ces politiques légitimes exigent souvent, dans la pratique, la collecte, l’utilisation et le stockage d’importants volumes d’informations personnelles. Par conséquent, il est nécessaire de concilier les objectifs de politique publique avec les droits fondamentaux au respect de la vie privée et à la protection des données.
EDPS Comments on the Recommendation from the Commission to the Council to authorise opening of negotiations between the European Union and the United States of America for an international agreement to make available to the United States Treasury Department financial messaging data to prevent and combat terrorism and terrorist financing
Avis sur des propositions modifiant le règlement financier applicable au budget général des Communautés européennes et ses modalités d'exécution (COM(2006) 213 final et SEC(2006) 866 final), JO C 94, 28.04.2007, p. 12
One of the main points of the proposals is that they foresee the set-up and organisation of a central database common to all institutions and bodies, operated by the Commission, of candidates and tenderers under specific situations of exclusions in case of fraud and allow the exchange of the information contained in the database with authorities at different levels.
Although the EDPS agrees to the principle of a central database in the light of the foreseen purposes of data processing, he underlined that a proactive approach to the rights of the data subjectsshould be respected. Data subjects must be informed beforehand that these data might be made public, and it must be ensured that the data subject's right of access and right to object are respected. Other concerns relate to:
The need for a precise timeframe regarding the update of the information as well as an adequate security protection of the database.
The need for specific safeguards in the context of transfers of personal data from the central database and receiving personal data from third countries and international organisations.