EU Parliament's President Schulz+ to EuroFora on PACE a.o. Snowden Hearing on Web Spying

*Strasbourg/CoE/Angelo Marcopolo/- While Internet Spying Whistle-Blower Edward Snowden has just been proposed for a Nobel Peace Prize by 2 Norwegian former Ministers, amidst a "hot" on-going controversy which is due to be discussed even at the forthcoming Security Forum in Munchen (Germany) during this weekend, experienced EU Parliament's President, Martin Schulz, speaking to "EuroFora" at the conclusion of a Press point together with the newly elected President of CoE's PanEuropean Assembly (the 47 Member Countries-strong PACE, including Russia, etc), Anne Brasseur from Luxembourg (until now Chairwoman  of the Liberal Group of MEPs), expressed a Careful but Open stance on the proposal of PACE's competent Rapporteur, Dutch ChristianDemocrat/EPP MEP Pieter Omtzigt, to try to invite Snowden to a Hearing, before forthcoming Public Debates and Votes by the PACE, currently scheduled in Strasbourg for April.

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    Pieter Omtzigt is CoE's Rapporteur both on "Whistle-Blowers' protection", and on "Massive Eavesdropping" by NSA etc. at the Internet, but stressed the fact that in Edward Snowden case, these 2 CoE concerns are clearly united together in one. That's one among the reasons for which his Draft Double Report, discussed earlier this week in Strasbourg by the Legal affairs and Human Rights' Committee of CoE's Assembly, practicaly concludes, inter alia, by a clear proposal to Invite Snowden to a contradictory Hearing, in one way or another, despite well known obstacles and even reported threats.

    - Speaking earlier to "EuroFora", after an open meeting of PACE's Legal/Human Rights Committee, organized togeher with the Cultural affairrs Committee, to hear Experts for Internet Law, Encryption and Software on how to Protect Users' personal data from Spying and/or other Aggressions, Omtzigt told us that his Draft Report was due to be released Today, i.e. shortly before an exceptional Visit to the CoE by EU Parliament's President, German SocialDemocrat MEP Martin Schulz.

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    => Therefore, "EuroFora" asked afterwards Schulz  whether he supported, or not, CoE Assembly  Rapporteur's official demand, now just released also by writting, to invite Snowden for a Hearing on Internet Spying, which would be of a fundamentaly contradictory nature, together with other Experts.

 - "I think that it's very Difficult to Invite him", (Snowden), replied from the outset the experienced EU Parliament's President, Warning about probable Obstacles, but without denying, however, the Interest that such a Hearing can have.

 + Moreover, President Schulz spontaneously .. laughed a lot, when he learned from "EuroFora" that another, relevant idea of PACE's Rapporteur was also to try "to invite Snowden for a Hearing together with a Senior Official of the U.S. Administration", in order to get both sides of the story, and engage in a real Debate...                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

 - "We had the same Problem in the EU Parliament", Schulz revealed.

- But "we (EU) can't solve it",  "because", apparently, it couldn't go without "Risks for Mr. Snowden"...., he went on to add, indirectly but obviously Warning for Dangers of eventual Aggressions (about which there were, already, reportedly several Threats, even in Public, inclusing to Brutally shoot and kill him..

- This goes, at least "for the Time being", President Schulz added, apparently Hoping that things might become a little Better, in the next few weeks or months,...

+ However, by simply abstaining from giving an explicit Reply, while Thoughtfully reflecting apparently on the pro and cons of "EuroFora"s last Question, about whether he would "Join Forces with CoE's Assembly", in order to find a Solution to the Problem of Snowden's Hearing, later Together; Schulz didn't exclude at all, but rather Left Open such a possibility for the Future...

Earlier, indeed, he anounced his common wish, together with CoE's Assembly's new President Anne Brasseur, to "Intensify" even further, Cooperation and Joint Actions between EU Parliament and PACE, particularly in order to make good use of the PanEuropean body's capacity to integrate also Russia's, Ukraine's and other such Neighbouring Countries of Strategic importance for the EU, as Schulz told Journalists in Strasbourg, including "EuroFora".

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At any case, Omtzigt's Draft report notes the Fact that "Snowden  may not be in a position to Travel to Strasbourg", because "he is a Wanted man in the US", so that "the US might request the Extradition from France, the CoE's seat State, which may have some Obligations as such".

That's why, "as fellback", PACE's Rapporteur suggests that "we (CoE) could invite Mr. Snowden to participate in the Hearing by way of Tele-Conferencing, or the (PACE's) Commission could authorize (Omtzigt himself) to Visit him in Russia and report back to it", afterwards.

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+ Meanwhile, after another PACE Hearing, earlier this week in Strasbourg, of Experts on how to Protect Users from Internet Spying, London Metropolitan University Professor of International Law, Douwe Korff, speaking to "EuroFora", stressed that what was recently revealed about NSA's Massive Surveillance was a series of blatant Violations of Human Rights, which must stop, while also advising CoE  to ask all its Member States to publish all Treaties that they might have concluded in the Past on such issues.

As for the famous Developer of the "Tor" project,  Jacob Appelbaum from the USA, speaking also to "EuroFora", mainly defended Tor's capacities to protect Users from Internet Spying at their Computers, but also warned about the Risk for illegal Spying to intervene at one point or another of the Cable Communications' Network, thereby showing the current Need for a Strong Political Movement in order to succeed to really Stop Massive Spying at the Internet. Last but not least, German Researcher Christian Grothoff, member of the "Pirates" party and Professor at Munchen's Technical University, stressed to "EuroFora" that, in his view, it's of crucial importance to use only Non-Proprietary, but "Open" Software, in order to be able to find out whether some Spying virus has been eventually instaured in a hidden code, or not.

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However, a systematic search of currently badly needed ways to "improve User Protection and Sec urity in Cyberspace", is expected through a Draft Report prepared by the new Head of the German Delegation at CoE's PanEuropean Assembly, ChristianDemocrat MEP Axel Fischer, who, replying to "EuroFora"'s questions, observed the fact that not even the "Non - Spy" bilateral deal between Governments, that German Chancellor Angie Merkel, together with French President Francois Hollande, had asked from the USA during the October 2013 EU Summit in Brussels (See relevant "EuroFora"s NewsReports from Brussels, then), hadn't yet been agreed until now, while, concerning his CoE's Report, he revealed that it is due to be definitively adopted by PACE's Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media in the Middle of March at Moscow.

After dressing a long list of Nightmaresque concrete Dangers which may currently threat Internet Users' personal data Security, Axel Fischer's Draft Report proposes a Double Series of possible Measures in order to Protect Citizens, both at a Global level (f.ex. via ICANN, UNO, IGF, etc), and at a European and PanEuropean area, mainly via the EU and CoE, due to be debated in Public and finally adopted at the Next PACE Plenary Session in Strasbourg on April.