MEP Prebilič asked the European Commission about compliance of the Law on Internal Affairs and the Law on the National Security Agency with EU law
Member of the European Parliament Vladimir Prebilič informed the Human Rights Action (HRA) that he has submitted a parliamentary question to the European Commission regarding the compliance of the Law on Internal Affairs and the Law on the National Security Agency, recently adopted by the Parliament of Montenegro, with European Union law and standards for the protection of fundamental rights.
Prebilič, who is a member of the Greens/European Free Alliance group as well as the delegation to the EU-Montenegro Stabilisation and Association Parliamentary Committee, requested that the European Commission assess whether the proposed legal solutions are in line with the EU acquis.
According to HRA, under Rule 144 of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament, the European Commission has 30 days to respond to a parliamentary question. The questions and answers are publicly published and represent an important mechanism for transparency and political accountability of EU institutions.
In the question addressed to the European Commission, Prebilič stated that the draft Law on Internal Affairs and the draft Law on the National Security Agency raise concerns regarding their compliance with European Union fundamental rights standards.
He warns that the proposed solutions allow for the termination of employment of police officers on the basis of so-called „security obstacles“, relying on secret information that the officer cannot access or effectively challenge.
He also notes that the proposed Law on the National Security Agency retains provisions that enable the institution to access citizens’ data, including location data and private databases, without prior judicial authorization.
In this context, Prebilič asked the European Commission three questions.
The first concerns how the Commission assesses the compliance of the Law on Internal Affairs with European Union fundamental rights standards, particularly with regard to the right to be heard, the right to defence, and the principle of effective judicial protection under Article 41 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Law Enforcement Directive (LED).
The second question concerns whether provisions allowing security authorities to access citizens’ data without prior judicial authorization are compatible with European Union standards.
In his third question, Prebilič asks the European Commission to assess the compatibility of these legislative solutions with EU fundamental rights standards, taking into account its role in monitoring the alignment of candidate countries’ legislation with the EU acquis during the accession process.