Resoconto integrale delle discussioni

Giovedì 26 ottobre 2017 - Strasburgo

10.5. Rispetto della vita privata e tutela dei dati personali nelle comunicazioni elettroniche e abrogazione della direttiva 2002/58/CE (regolamento sulla vita privata e le comunicazioni elettroniche) (A8-0324/2017 - Marju Lauristin) (votazione)

– Before the vote:

  Birgit Sippel (S&D). – Mr President, briefly, because a lot of myths – or you could also say a lot of lies – have been spread around by some industrial lobbyists. I would like to add some very short points on what we are deciding today.

The ePrivacy Regulation aims to put users back in control of their communication data and to make sure that confidentiality of communication in a digital environment becomes a reality for everyone. At the same time, the ePrivacy Regulation does not ban all forms of advertising. It only addresses the issues of surveillance-driven advertising and wants consumers given a choice about whether they want to be tracked or not for commercial purposes. Also – and I really cannot understand how this argument came into the debate – the mandate of the ePrivacy Regulation does not at all affect the powers of Member States to fight against illegal content online. Members today have a very clear choice: you can either disappoint the vast majority of citizens who want their confidentiality to be protected, or you can give in to the demands and lies of some industry lobbyists. Any further delay in this decision will only affect the strength of our position when it comes to negotiations with Council and Commission. Therefore, I urge everybody here to vote in favour of the mandate today.

(Applause)

– After the vote:

  Marju Lauristin (S&D), rapporteur. – Mr President, I want to thank all those who voted for the decision and, above all, I want to thank the shadow rapporteurs for their work. It was very hard work. We met with a lot of people from different sides. We felt how strongly citizens were expecting that this mandate would be given, and we did our best.

Also, this is my last day in Parliament. I thank all of you for this very enriching experience and it is my wish that the European Parliament will stand firm in defending democracy, liberal values and a future for Europe. Thank you.

(Loud applause)

  President. – For those who were not being patient, Ms Lauristin is leaving the House, so I think it was a question of courtesy to give her the opportunity to speak.

  Petri Sarvamaa (PPE). – Mr President, I am sure that there is a rule in the Rules of Procedure that says that the plenary cannot be used for further political discussion that was already dealt with extensively in committee, and this is a clear case of that.

(Applause)