Alexander Alvaro (ALDE), – (DE) Mr President, inevitably, we in the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe find it difficult to reach a decision on issues like this. For us, this is a matter to be pondered and we follow a rational path, weighing up the arguments rather than being swayed by dogma. We are the only group in this House to follow such practice. We are aware that legal certainty, legal clarity and the question of the clarity of the wording are decisively important, in other words what is contained in this agreement and what the decisive points will be for us. There are deficiencies with regard to the question of further usage and retention periods, as well as with regard to the area of application, which is open to interpretation. The wording is not clearly defined.

As a group we are known for our attachment to freedom, specifically the freedom of the individual. Security is always the servant of freedom. It is never the other way round. Responsibility is an essential element in this context. It is our responsibility to protect and balance the interests of our citizens. In our view this agreement does not achieve that and I believe that our rejection makes it clear that we shall oppose this erosion of freedom and responsibility.