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FM AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0011
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
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RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 000172 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY:  CORRECTED PASS TO LINE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR S/CT PAUL SCHULTZ 
DEPT FOR ERA/ERA ALESSANDRO NARDI 
DEPT FOR L/LEI KEN PROPP 
DEPT FOR A/GIS/IPS/PRV CHARLENE THOMAS 
DEPT OF JUSTICE FOR TOM BURROWS 
DHS FOR MIKE SCARDAVILLE AND JOHN KROPF 
TREASURY FOR JULIA YOO AND CARLTON GREENE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/10/2019 
TAGS: PTER KTFN KCRM KHLS ECPS ECON PREL KPAO KTIA
CON, EUN, BE 
SUBJECT: BELGIUM:LAW ENFORCEMENT AND COUNTERTERRORISM 
INFORMATION SHARING AND DATA PRIVACY ISSUES WITH EUROPE 
 
REF: STATE 8403 
 
Classified By: Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Richard M. Eason. 
 
¶1. Summary: (C) Poloff discussed reftel points on 
counterterrorism and law enforcement with relevant contacts 
in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs February 8, the Ministry 
of Justice February 9, and the Ministry of Interior February 
¶5.  In light of the impending rejection of the Terrorist 
Finance Tracking Program (TFTP) agreement by the European 
Parliament February 10, MFA Counterterrorism Coordinator 
Thomas Baekelandt outlined clear differences with the U.S. on 
data privacy issues.  He said Europeans would expect actual 
changes in U.S. legal codes on redress procedures, guaranteed 
erasure of data, and length of time the U.S. holds data.  He 
suggested Belgium may have to push for these changes during 
its upcoming EU Presidency from July 1 to December 31, 2010. 
Baekelandt opined that the issue on data privacy for 
Europeans was not lack of understanding of U.S. procedures, 
but lack of belief that the U.S. is indeed committed to 
protecting the privacy of European citizens.  Minister of 
Justice De Clerck's Diplomatic Advisor Didier Nagant and the 
MOJ's data privacy expert Damien Moreau added on February 9 
that Europeans would indeed welcome changes to U.S. law and 
procedure.  Moreau said many are aware that the U.S. has 
similar procedures to those in Europe, but there is a 
symbolic need for the U.S. to deal with European critiques 
and European public opinion.  The MOI foreign advisor 
Dominique Laurent welcomed the U.S. points on February 5, and 
she promised to provide a brief to Minister of Interior 
Turtelboom.  End Summary. 
 
The United States Should Change its Laws 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) Usually jovial and optimistic CT Coordinator 
Baekelandt was blunt and pessimistic when he met Poloff 
February 8 to discuss reftel points.  Baekelandt was 
instrumental in working out a U.S.-EU compromise on the 1267 
committee to meet EU concerns and maintain the integrity of 
the U.N. counterterrorism sanctions regime.  On data privacy 
issues however, he supported the European 
Parliament's criticism of U.S. procedures.  He said the EU 
has highly skilled lawyers that fully understand U.S. laws, 
and said explanations of how our procedures are analogous to 
European standards would not suffice.  He said that 
negotiations are a two-way street, and that U.S., not 
European, laws and ways of doing things would have to change. 
 He emphatically added that the problem is not a lack of 
understanding, but a lack of belief; Europeans often do not 
believe the U.S. treats data privacy 
properly.  The MOJ's data privacy expert Damien Moreau, who 
has worked on U.S.-EU data privacy negotiations for at least 
twelve years, said the impending European Parliament vote on 
TFTP highlighted the symbolic and public opinion problem 
confronting U.S.-EU data sharing procedures.  He said that 
U.S. negotiators have always said that Congress is 
independent of the Executive when the EU pushed for 
changes to U.S. privacy law; he questioned whether the 
Executive branch of government could make recommendations to 
Congress. 
 
Points of Contention 
------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) The three main points of contention mentioned by the 
MFA, MOJ, and MOI, which are the same ones raised in EP 
debates, are: 
 
-- Redress: visible, accessible, obvious, and understandable 
processes that can be explained to a 
European audience. 
 
-- Erasure: a viable mechanism that confirms data has been 
erased after it has been used. 
 
-- Time: changing the length of time the U.S. may hold on to 
the data before it is erased 
 
Solution: Experts' Meeting and EP-Congress Outreach 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
 
BRUSSELS 00000172  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶4. (C) Ambassador Baekelandt offered that high-level meetings 
between U.S. department secretaries and European ministers 
would not solve the data privacy issue.  He suggested legal 
experts needed to meet to push for changes in the law, 
particularly in the United States.  He said a serious 
technical meeting between such legal experts is needed.  He 
did not predict a quick solution that would maintain the 
current status quo, and lamented that it would be up to the 
Belgian rotating EU presidency to see the 
needed discussions and changes through.  The MOJ's Moreau 
suggested that members of the EP be invited to Washington to 
meet with members of Congress as a means to discuss a 
possible change in U.S. legislation.  He opined that meeting 
with their counterparts and discussing the public opinion 
problem in Europe, might encourage Congress to act. 
 
Belgian Decision Making Officials 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) The politically relevant individuals in Belgium for 
major outreach on law enforcement, data privacy, or any other 
political decisions are the five vice prime-ministers.  All 
Belgian government decisions are first made by consensus 
among these five members of the "Core Cabinet."  One Vice PM 
can effectively veto any legislative, regulatory, or 
executive decision.  These five are: 
 
-- Vice PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs Steven Vanackere; 
Flemish Christian Democrats (CD&V) 
 
-- Vice PM and Minister of Budget Guy Vanhengel; Flemish 
Liberals (OpenVLD) 
 
-- Vice PM and Minister of Social Services and Public Health 
Laurette Onkelinx; Francophone Socialists (PS) 
 
-- Vice PM and Minister of Finance; Didier Reynders 
Francophone Liberals (MR) 
 
-- Vice PM and Minister of Employment and Equal Opportunity 
Joelle Milquet; Francophone Center of Democratic Humanists 
(CdH) 
 
In addition to these five, the President of the Belgian 
Privacy Commission Willem Debeuckelaere could be an 
interesting interlocutor. 
 
¶6. (C) Comment: The tenor of the response by the MFA CT 
Coordinator and experts at the MOJ was surprising.  GOB 
contacts are usually quite mellow, and they generally take 
demarche points in stride.  The GOB usually proposes ideas 
for compromise or suggests means of achieving U.S.-EU 
agreement.  Ambassador Baekelandt's strident insistence that 
U.S. law needed to change was likely a signal that the EU is 
prepared to insist on a change in U.S. law.  The MOJ 
underscored the same point, albeit in a calmer, more 
diplomatic manner, pointing out the need for at least 
symbolic changes to U.S. law in order to deal with European 
public opinion. 
 
GUTMAN 
.