mr president let me stress that eu law protects the confidentiality of electronic communications
it prohibits listening tapping storage or other kinds of interception or surveillance of communications without the consent of the users concerned
apart from the legally authorised recording of certain communications in the course of lawful business practice such as commercial transactions further interception practice such as wiretapping is subject to specific conditions
the conditions for exceptional interception practice must be provided by legislation and be necessary appropriate and proportionate within a democratic society to safeguard public objectives such as public security or combating criminal offences
the general principles of eu law must also be respected
for the commission bulgarian legislation seems to comply with these requirements
the law on special investigative means and the law on electronic communications already provide appropriate mechanisms for legal authorisation oversight handling and access to personal data and thus ensure respect of fundamental rights
the issue at stake here concerns the enforcement of legal obligations
it is the responsibility of the bulgarian authorities to ensure that legal and procedural guarantees enshrined in the bulgarian legislation on special investigative means are respected
the commission highlights the necessity for member states to respect fundamental rights and procedural guarantees in compliance with the rule of law when implementing eu law
the commission understands that the bulgarian authorities took the necessary steps to check the legality of the deployment of special investigative means and to establish whether the information published in the press resulted from abusive use of special investigative means
the commission while not having received any related complaints on the interception of electronic communications in bulgaria will continue to monitor the current situation with a view to ensuring compliance with eu law
