While the LIBE committee of the European Parliament (Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs) is struggling to work through thousands of proposals for changes and amendments to the EU General Data Protection Regulation tabled by the European Commission in January 2012, one of the leading committee members has openly attacked German Green MEP Jan Philipp Albrecht who is the rapporteur on the Regulation. In an open letter published last Thursday, the Liberal MEP Sarah Ludford accuses Albrecht of „presenting a frankly untruthful version of events“ (see end of first paragraph in Sarah Ludford MEP’s email response to the rapporteur, German Green MEP Jan Albrecht, 30 May 2013).

What Happened

Originally, the LIBE committee had intended to pass a final resolution on the Commission’s draft in late April. The final vote was then postponed twice („EU data Protection Vote delayed“, Lexology.com of 8 May 2013). Presently, there are parallels to the twice-postponed opening of the new Berlin airport: No exact date has been set for the third attempt at coming to an agreement.

The Accusation

Meanwhile, Albrecht is trying to put the blame on pressure by „pro-industry MEPs and lobbying efforts by large companies“ („New EU data law could end up weaker than old one“, EUobserver.com of 29 May 2013):

“Some groups in Brussels are now acting against what the European Commission has proposed on the basis of what the parliament has demanded for.“
(cited according to „New EU data law could end up weaker than old one“, EUobserver.com of 29 May 2013)

The Defence

The blame game that Albrecht is playing has angered Ludford who is calling Albrecht’s statements „highly irresponsible and misleading“ (see beginning of first paragraph in Sarah Ludford MEP’s email response to the rapporteur, German Green MEP Jan Albrecht, 30 May 2013):

• Poor Draft:  Ludford reminds Albrecht that he had made a number of proposals that were poorly drafted, „containing unworkable or unclear language“ (see fourth paragraph in Sarah Ludford MEP’s email response).
• Minority ‚Compromises‘:  Ludford accuses Albrecht of putting forward ‚compromises‘ that do not reflect the majority view and will, therefore, have no chance of being agreed on (see third paragraph in Sarah Ludford MEP’s email response).
• Committee Infrastructure:  Ludford claims Albrecht had failed to set up sufficient infrastructure to support the work of the committee. According to Ludford, „all the improvements – a second member of the secretariat assigned to us, a workplan, and ‚booklets‘ of amendments relevant to each article – are the result of requests and suggestions that I, not you, made“ (see second paragraph in Sarah Ludford MEP’s email response).

The Broader Picture:  an Activist as Negotiator

Albrecht is a clean and outspoken advocate of traditional data protection views. A good activist in the fight against what is perceived as „hard lobby pressure“ is, however, not necessarily a talented negotiator. Ludford’s open letter is a clear indication that his colleagues in the committee are becoming impatient with on-going efforts to blame „lobbyists“ for all the continuing difficulties in finding a compromise on the content and shape of a future European General Data Protection Regulation.