EUROPEAN COMMISSION SECRETARIAT-GENERAL Directorate B SG-B-2 Document Management and Archives Policy

ΚΡΑΤΙΚΟ ΑΡΧΕΙΟ

MINUTES OF THE JOINT MEETING OF THE EUROPEAN BOARD OF NATIONAL ARCHIVISTS AND THE EUROPEAN ARCHIVES GROUP NICOSIA, 12 OCTOBER 2012

The meeting was co-chaired by Effy Parparinou (CY, EU Presidency) and Peter Handley ().

1. Adoption of the agenda

The agenda for the meeting was adopted without change.

The minutes of the 12th EAG meeting, held jointly with EBNA in Copenhagen on 30 May 2012, were approved by written procedure on 31 August.

2. The new European draft data protection Regulation a. The meeting reviewed the draft letter to Commission Vice-President Reding. The letter asks the Commission to take account of the interest of archives in the new Draft Data Protection Regulation and proposes some amendments to article 83 of the draft Regulation. It also announces the intention of the National Archives to prepare a European code of conduct on the processing of personal data by archives.

The draft letter was generally welcomed. The following changes were proposed: • the last sentence of the 4th paragraph should also include the anonymisation of personal data as a potential threat to the authenticity of archives. • a general provision should be added to the Data Protection Regulation recognizing that the fundamental right to privacy and protection of personal data needs to be balanced with other legitimate public interests, e.g. the preservation of archives containing personal data that provide evidence to rectify injustices or allow citizens to obtain their legal rights. • The right of the data subject to rectify data (see amendment art. 83.4.c), should be limited to a supplementary corrective statement that leaves the original data intact.

The letter was subsequently sent to Mrs Reding on 18 October on behalf of the European National Archivists by the President of Eurbica. b. With a view to drafting a European code of conduct for data protection under article 38 of the draft Regulation, Susan Healy (UK) and Giulia Barrera (IT) presented the codes currently applied in their respective countries. The UK code of practice provides detailed guidance for both archivists and records managers. The Italian code of conduct is an integral part of Italian data protection legislation and applies to both archivists and researchers.

Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111 After discussion the participants proposed to • draft a code of conduct independently of whether the Commission accepts the amendments proposed in the letter to Vice-President Reding; • start work on the code of conduct immediately, even if it can only be formally adopted after the adoption of the draft Data Protection Regulation; • limit the scope of the code of conduct to archival services. The code could define where the responsibilities of archives end and that of others, e.g. users, begins. It will apply to National Archives and, where possible, other public archives services. Private archives institutions will have the possibility to adhere to the code.

An EBNA/EAG working group of the UK, IT, CY, DE, BE, NL, BG, FR and SE will draft a first proposal for the code. At the invitation of the co-chair, Professor Eric Ketelaar agreed to act as academic advisor to the group.

The code should take account of the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Archives, the Council of 's Recommendation to Member States on a European Policy on access to archives and the ICA Code of Ethics. The Commission will organise a first informal discussion with the services of the EDPS. The UK and IT will draft a first outline and draft text for discussion. The working group will report to the joint EBNA/EAG meeting in Dublin (April 2013) on its progress.

3. Reports a. DLM Forum: Prof. Eric Ketelaar (chair DLM Forum) focused on the meaning of the DLM Forum for archives and vice-versa. He noted that the interoperability of MoReq2012 compliant systems could be useful for transfers from applications in administrations to the National Archives. To this end he suggested that the archives and the DLM Forum explore the development of an OIAS module for MoReq2010. He called on the archives to continue to support the DLM Forum and to play a more active role in the new MoReq Governance Board. He noted that the Forum had appointed a managing director in July 2012.

Zoltán Szatucsek (HU) underlined the importance of the participation of archives in DLM but wondered if the archives were getting enough in return. He noted that the diversity of the membership of the forum is valuable for archives and said that MoReq2010 had proven a useful tool for the transfer and long term preservation of archives in . He called on the archives to be more specific in their demands on the DLM Forum and at the same time to be more active in, and supportive of DLM. b. Archives Portal Europe: Gerrit de Bruin (APEx project coordinator) reported that at its meeting earlier that morning, the Executive Steering Committee had discussed the long term sustainability of the portal. An important first step was the appointment of 23 country managers to coordinate participation in the portal in each country, independent of EU funding of the project. The APEx project office board had furthermore appointed a development coordinator and was in discussion with other organisations that could serve as a model for the future foundation. A non-paper on sustainability is being prepared for discussion. With respect to the ongoing project, he noted that some technical difficulties were leading to problems with the upload of files and the implementation of new functionalities. This problem was being addressed but it was nevertheless expected that some of the deliverables would be delayed. c. Preservation and disaster prevention: Barbara Berska (PL) reported that the Czech and Polish National Archives and the Bundesarchiv hope to organise a three day workshop in 2013 (probably September). The aim of the workshop is to train trainers who can pass 2 on the skills in their respective organisations. Participants will share experiences from rescue operations and the workshop will include practical exercises. There are five places open for participants outside the three organising countries.

4. Information Points / AOB

EAG Report to the Council On 21 September 2012, the Commission adopted a summary of the EAG report 'Archives in Europe. Facing the challenges of the digital era' and sent it, with the full report attached, to the Council of Ministers.1 The report was presented to the Council's Working Party on Information on 26 October and is on the agenda for the Culture Council meeting on 26-27 November 2012.

Commission proposal to amend the EU Archives Regulation The Commission proposal to amend the Archives Regulation2 for the EU institutions is being discussed in the Council Working Party on Information. Several member states have parliamentary scrutiny reserves because of the legal basis for the proposal (art. 352 of the Treaty). The Commission invited comments on the opinion of the European Data Protection Supervisor of 10 October 2012 which was distributed to the participants prior to the meeting.

Archives management system at the European Commission The European Commission is currently analysing IT options to ingest and manage its historical archives. It is exploring "buy or build" scenarios and hopes to draw on the knowledge and experience of the National Archives. Jef Schram (COM) thanked the National Archives for the information which they had already given.

The U.S. Directive on Managing Government Records3 The chair invited the National Archives to note the US federal initiative on the management of government records. The directive requires that, to the fullest extent possible, paper is eliminated in favour of electronic recordkeeping. It sets out a number of specific actions that need to be undertaken to achieve this that have parallels with what is happening in Europe.

Departure of Yvonne Bos (NL) Yvonne Bos announced that this was her last meeting as the Dutch member of the EAG. In future the Netherlands will be represented by Martin Berendse in both EBNA and EAG. On behalf of the participants, Peter Handley warmly thanked Yvonne for her long standing contribution to international archival cooperation in general and EBNA / EAG in particular.

5. Closing

The co-chair (COM) thanked the Cypriot presidency for its hospitality and excellent organisation.

The next joint meeting of EBNA/EAG will take place in Dublin on the afternoon of 3 April 2013.

1 COM(2012)513; SWD(2012)263 2 COM(2012)456 3 Memorandum on Managing Government Records Directive, Washington D.C., 24 August 2012

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