EU, US Reach Deal Sharing Air Passenger Data
06 October 2006
The European Union and the United States have reached a new agreement on the transfer of airline passenger data used in anti-terrorism operations.
EU and U.S. officials reached the interim deal Friday following nine hours of overnight negotiations via trans-Atlantic video conference.
Finland's justice minister, Leena Luhtanen, say the new agreement provides the possibility of giving passenger information to U.S. authorities while guaranteeing the data will be sufficiently protected.
The deal will expire in July 2007. U.S. and EU officials are expected to use the time between now and then to negotiate a long term accord.
The EU and Washington had been trying to finalize an agreement after talks collapsed last week, missing an EU court imposed deadline of September 30.
Reaching a deal means European airlines can continue to legally provide Washington with more than 30 pieces of personal information about airline passengers traveling to the United States. The information includes names, addresses, payment details and telephone numbers.
Without an agreement, European airlines faced the dilemma of facing legal action in Europe if they transferred the passenger data, and at the same time facing the loss of landing rights in the United States and fines if they did not.
The controversy started in May, when EU courts struck down an existing arrangement that provided American security officials with information on passengers entering the United States.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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