Perhaps more appropriately to the world of James Bond than to the European Union, Echelon -- an international spying network in which governments covertly cooperate to intercept global communications -- is causing a stir in the European Parliament.

Governments rarely admit to the existence of networks like Echelon, which is a surveillance system run since 1947 by the secret services of the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to intercept all global telecommunications. But there is momentum in the European Parliament toward finally bringing such systems to account. Since James Woolsey, a former director of the CIA, confessed in The Wall Street Journal that the system exists, but claimed it was only used to stop other countries bribing their way to lucrative contracts, denial is no longer a viable option. Many now recognize that a clear boundary between law enforcement and "national security" interception activity is essential to the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Despite European laws designed to protect civil liberties, many in the European Parliament were concerned that not enough was being done to protect citizens' rights from the intrusion of Echelon. In France, an investigation has been launched into Echelon operations, and in the Netherlands a parliamentary committee has announced plans to hold hearings on the issue in the autumn. In the European Parliament, a vote was taken in July, at the initiative of the Socialist Group, to establish a temporary committee on the Echelon interception system.