This video on freedom of speech and non discrimination is part of the ALDE Civil Liberties campaign.

I have a story about limiting freedom of press and freedom of speech in an EU country. I know I should say what people usually say at these occasions. I should say something like – it is a great honour to speak here. But I can´t. And it´s not a joke.

I am most grateful for the opportunity to be here but for me, it is rather sad that I have to raise here the issue of freedom of press and freedom of speech in my country. Actually, I never thought I would have to come up here and have this kind of speech.
My country, the Czech Republic – which is currently presiding over the EU - has recently introduced a law which limits freedom of speech and freedom of press. The law limits those freedoms in a way which is – I have a full right to say – unprecedented.
I´m speaking here as an envoy of the European Newspaper Publishers´ Associations: I´m acting on behalf of the editors of all major Czech media – I am a journalist myself: a deputy editor of a big national daily newspaper. And as a journalist, I could easily go to jail in my country for just doing my job.
I could be sentenced for up to 5 years in jail for a crime of publishing quite a broad range of information. In addition to the jail, I could also pay a heavy fine – up to some 180 000 euros.

Let me give you some specific examples of what the law practically means. Imagine you were a journalist, a blogger. You receive information from a police wiretapping. Police tapped a politician lobbying in favour of a powerful businessman in a privatization case. So, you think it is right to publish that.
You think – you´re wrong. According to the new Czech law, you are not allowed to publish that information coming from police wiretapping. And if you do publish, you will be charged by the police. And you will end up in court. And – if the judge does not like you – you can go to jail for up to 5 years.
It really doesn´t matter that you know the information about a strange contacts between business and politics will never be analysed by a court – it will never be revealed because the police file has been closed for some suspicious reasons. It really doesn’t matter that publishing the information is in public interest - the law says you are just not allowed.

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I would like to thank the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Roma Communities in Europe (http://www.romapolicy.eu/)— on the first of the European Civil Liberties Days. I would also like to congratulate the Liberals in the European Parliament for this initiative.

These past 5 years we the Roma have seen the European Parliament taking strong action in order to protect the rights and freedoms of our community. As a Roma and as a former member of the larger ALDE team I am proud that the Liberal group has been at the forefront of this effort. Two weeks ago together with fellow Roma activists we have expressed our gratitude to the European Parliament for its work in defense of the rights of our people. I take the opportunity today to thank in particular the Liberal group for an excellent work in advancing the cause of Roma in the EU.

In the last decade Roma issues have been mostly discussed in the context of social and economic rights. Countless reports and studies have been issued dissecting the nature and causes of the social exclusion that plague Roma communities. Looking back I am conscious that during this ending mandate many steps have been taken, both at EU and national level, to address the social and economic situation of Roma citizens. It is to be welcomed that:

- Member States make use of the European Social Funds to increasingly invest in education and employment programs for Roma.
- We do have now a compendium of “best practices” for Roma inclusion emerging from Spain to Bulgaria. I am happy to see that each Central European countries can today show at least one successful nation wide program addressing either access to employment, education or health. I trust that the effects of current investment will not fail to show in the coming years, for the Roma population is a young one and has tremendous potential to contribute to society,
- International cooperation between Member States and non EU states on Roma inclusion was pioneered in Central and Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans  with the launch of the  Decade of Roma inclusion in 2005,
- Following the European Council conclusions on Roma Inclusion from December 2008, this month the European Commission and the Czech EU Presidency will launch the integrated EU Roma platform  to enhance the coordination of policies in the areas of employment, education, housing and health,

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Yesterday the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), the third-largest political grouping in the European Parliament, launched their first European Civil Liberties day. They asked four NGOs to give short speeches on key current human rights issues, including European Digital Rights (http://www.edri.org/)— on whose behalf I gave the speech below.

It’s great to see today’s launch of European Civil Liberties day. Coming from the UK, which Privacy International now rates as the worst surveillance state in the EU, I need all the optimism I can get. We have millions of CCTV cameras; an illegal DNA database of over 5m profiles including nearly 100,000 under-13s; and out-of-control Internet surveillance with 519,000 government accesses in 2007 to people’s communications records.

The UK and its allies have been pushing this surveillance agenda at the European level, most noticeably with the Data Retention Directive but more subtly with the exchange of travel records with the US and a “principle of availability” that allows law enforcement databases to be shared across the EU.

Some of the member states are looking forward to much, much more electronic surveillance of their citizens. The Portuguese presidency in 2007 envisaged a “digital tsunami”, where “Every object the individual uses, every transaction they make and almost everywhere they go will create a detailed digital record. This will generate a wealth of information for public security organisations”. The former UK intelligence coordinator Sir David Omand recently added: “The realm of intelligence operations is of course a zone to which the ethical rules that we might hope to govern private conduct as individuals in society cannot fully apply.”

This surveillance on steroids is being pushed by governments with little evidence it will prevent terrorism or reduce serious crime. Detailed criminological studies have found that CCTV cameras reduce crime levels by only around 2%, except in very specific circumstances such as indoor car parks. The US National Research Council recently concluded that “there is not a consensus within the relevant scientific community nor on the committee regarding whether any behavioral surveillance or physiological monitoring techniques are ready for use at all in the counterterrorist context given the present state of the science.”

Liberals and democrats should campaign for a different kind of information society, where the human rights of citizens remain centre-stage, as they have been in Europe for the last sixty years and as they are proudly proclaimed in the EU’s new Charter of Fundamental Rights. Members of Parliament must continue to stand up for citizens’ rights in the face of anti-democratic attempts by some Council members to turn the EU into a surveillance society. Today’s launch is a very positive step in that effort.

 
Thank you for that introduction, Alexander.
Thank you also for the hard work that you have done to promote civil liberties.

Throughout this Parliament we may not have always seen eye to eye but I have great admiration for your energy, enthusiasm and Liberal commitment. We live in an age where security is used by democratic governments as an excuse to extend the strong arm of the state. To encroach on the liberty, privacy and choice that all free citizens should enjoy. So we need people like Alexander Alvaro, and Sophie In’t Veld and Sarah Ludford to reverse the rising tide of authoritarian politics.

And that is a task they take very seriously. Why?

Because all three of them are good liberals. And we Liberals and Democrats are civil libertarians to our core. We believe that individuals should be at the centre of policy. Not out of self-interest, but because every person has unique and intrinsic rights which must be respected. Becuase only when individuals are secure in their own rights and liberty will communities cohere and flourish. Access to justice, protection from discrimination, freedom of speech, movement, thought, worship and association. These are the things that give real meaning to private life. These are the civil liberties that we cherish and protect.

And you know, these rights lie at the heart of European democracy and the rule of law. They are embedded in the international treaties, the European treaties, and in due course - we hope - in the Charter of Fundamental Rights too. At its best, the European Parliament has stuck fast to those principles at home and abroad.

We have fought against the chilling prospect of fingerprinting young children in school. We initiated anti-discrimination directive that ensures that every citizen will enjoy equal access to goods, services and opportunity. And we have a spoken out against the abominations of extraordinary rendition, secret prisons and Guantanamo Bay.

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ALDE has the pleasure to invite you to the launch of the EUROPEAN CIVIL LIBERTIES DAY
15 APRIL 2009 - 14.30 - 16 - European Parliament, rue Wiertz, ASP 3rd floor, open space “Espace bar/ Forum”

Draft programme:

 
Opening speech by Alexander ALVARO (ALDE MEP, ALDE coordinator in the Civil Liberties Committee) : the ALDE civil liberties campaign

Welcoming speech by Graham WATSON (ALDE group leader): Liberals and Democrats and the defence of civil liberties

Intervention by Katarina KRESAL, Slovenian Minister of Interior

Interventions of Human Rights NGOs, MEPs, MPs

Sarah LUDFORD (ALDE MEP, LIBE committee member) : Conclusions

The event will be followed by a drink and refreshments

Welcome to the CIVILIBERTIES weblog which aims to bring together everyone who wants to keep the balance between liberty and security.

We want to provide you and your organisation with a forum to discuss our common efforts to ensure that human rights are respected, fundamental freedoms are protected and civil liberties in Europe are preserved. After all, these are the fundamental basis of our democracies in the European Union.

We would like to invite you to send us your opinion, to react to blogs, to share this forum with your network, to send us links to your campaigns, to see who is talking about civil liberties on Twitter, to join the civil liberties cause on Facebook and to sign the petition to hold an annual European Civil Liberties Day.

And of course, you are welcome to come to the European Parliament to celebrate the First European Civil Liberties Day on 15 April 2009 organised by the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. (click here for more information http://www.alde.eu/en/campaigns/civil-liberties/ ).

Thank you again for visiting our weblog. Please enjoy and let’s join forces to preserve civil liberties in Europe!

Alexander Alvaro MEP

An unprecedented law limiting freedom of speech and press has been recently passed in the Czech Republic.

The law  establishes a heavy punishment (up to 5 years imprisonment and 5 million Czech crowns fine) for those who publish  any information coming from police wiretapping – even if the information is in public interest.

The law was pushed through by the government and the opposition together; by the main right-centre and left-centre parties despite strong protests from Czech media organizations, international journalist and publisher associations.
Therefore we ask you to:

• Demand explanation from the Czech government why the law has been passed,
• Question the Czech Prime Minister and other ministers as they are currently presiding over the EU whether this type of legislation is in accordance with basic principles of freedom of expression,
• Question Czech MEPs, particularly those who are members of your groups,
• Consider any other possible forms of protests including passing a resolution against the law.

We remain at your disposal any time in case you have any questions or inquiries regarding this piece of legislation.

More information on: http://www.prisonforjournalists.com/

Valtteri Niiranen (Executive Director, ENPA), Josef Sabla (Executive Director, Czech Publishers Association) and Michal Musil (Deputy Editor of MF DNES daily)

An example of keeping the balance between security matters and other important issues…