Parliament’s ability to regulate intelligence agency activities is so limited that Danish political supervision of the national intelligence agencies is among the worst in the European Union, according to Jyllands-Posten citing a European Parliament report.

Unlike other EU countries, the Parliamentary Supervisory Committee, whose jurisdiction involves the intelligence agencies, has only limited powers.

“The committee is more or less somewhere to put things away,” says Criminal Law Professor Jørn Vestergaard.

“On the face of it, the committee is a guarantor that sensitive issues are handled decently. But in fact it is a shield against public debate and criticism,” he adds.

The committee is unable, for example, to demand information from the agencies, force agents or senior officers to provide explanations or initiate investigations of the use of agents.

Even former dictatorships in Eastern Europe such as Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Poland give politicians easier access to intelligence agencies, the report says.

The Danish Supervisory Committee is composed of one representative from each of the five largest parties in Parliament, and several members agree that supervision is limited to what the agencies choose to disclose.

“We are 100 per cent dependent on the information that the agencies put before us and we cannot choose ourselves to raise issues,” Social Liberal Committee Member Zenia Stampe tells Jyllands-Posten.

On Tuesday, Security and Intelligence Agency (PET) Chief Jakob Scharf told the newspaper that there should be as much openness as possible surrounding the agency’s work.

“In connection with legislation it is natural to take a look at certain parts of the supervision carried out in relation to PET. It is clear that there is a need for thorough supervision. We have extensive powers over the individual citizen and that requires the population’s trust. That trust depends on regular controls,” Scharf told Jyllands-Posten.

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