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14
May
2007
Opinions Prior Check and Prior Consultations

Verification of telephone bills - Ombudsman

Opinion of 14 May 2007 on a notification for prior checking on verification of telephone bills (Case 2007-137)

The telephones used by staff members of the European Ombudsman may only be used for professional purposes. Private use is not permitted. When the costs linked to a certain extension number exceed the 50€ limit, a verification procedure is initiated. It commences with an interview with the staff member concerned. He/she is invited to justify the costs and show that they were linked to his/her official tasks. If this is established, the verification procedure comes to an end. If, however, the costs are stemming from private use, the staff member will be reminded that private use is not permitted and may even face disciplinary procedure.
 

In his opinion the EDPS basically approved the procedure as foreseen by the European Ombudsman. Nevertheless, he recommended that specific rules should be drawn up on the procedure which would - along with Article 37 of the Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 - constitute a more concrete legal basis for the processing. Further recommendations were made concerning the information to be given to the data subjects and on the retention period of traffic and billing data.

Available languages: English, French
Topics
Privacy in the EU Institutions
IT at Work
26
Feb
2007
Opinions Prior Check and Prior Consultations

Use of mobile telephones - European Central Bank

Opinion of 26 February 2007 on a notification for prior checking on investigation procedures regarding the use of mobile telephones (Case 2004-272)

The rules of the ECB as concerns the use of ECB mobile phones are provided for in an administrative circular. Members of staff may need to make personal calls on their ECB mobile phone; this is accepted as long as such use is restricted to short and urgent calls.
 
On a monthly basis, ECB area heads receive a report informing them about the total net costs of their staff's mobile phone usage. Should a manager wish to query the monthly statistical information on the costs for calls made by an individual staff member via the ECB phone, or require additional information he should follow, he should discuss the issue with the member of staff concerned and resolve discrepancies where possible. If, having assessed the situation, there are grounds to suspect misconduct on the part of a member(s) of staff, the Directorate General Human Resources shall be informed. It will then be up to Directorate Personnel to evaluate the situation and to consult or inform the Legal Service/Directorate Internal Audit if necessary. The manager will then decide together with Directorate Personnel about further actions. This action could possibly lead to a disciplinary action, but this was not the object of the present prior check.
 

The EDPS has issued an opinion on this procedure which concludes that on a general basis the procedure complies with the principles established in the data protection regulation. However the EDPS did make some recommendations mainly as concerns the conservation periods for storing the data and information on the processing of personal data to be included in the administrative circular. The circular is currently in the process of modification and will reflect these recommendations accordingly. The EDPS also recommended that should the data be used for statistical purposes, the reference to the phone number should be removed from the monthly reports.

Available languages: English, French
Topics
Privacy in the EU Institutions
IT at Work