EU ministers to tackle passenger data deal, border system delays
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European Union justice ministers meet under growing pressure to end a period of legal limbo by accepting a deal to share airline passenger details with the United States.
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(InfoWorld) - The U.S. may be willing to give some ground in a dispute with European regulators over access to trans-Atlantic passenger data, although reaching a compromise before a July deadline remains uncertain. The issue of how long the U.S. holds onto passenger data has been one of the sticking points in the dispute, which threatens airlines' ability to carry passengers to the U.S. without violating U.S. or European law. "I anticipate that there may well be a decrease, and perhaps even a significant decrease, in the amount of time [the passenger data] is retained," said Hugo Teufel III, chief privacy officer for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in a meeting with journalists in Paris on Thursday. The U.S. requires airlines to hand over 34 facts about each passenger traveling from Europe, including where and how their airline ticket was purchased. The U.S. says it needs the information to help identify terrorism suspects, but some European regulators have fiercely opposed sharing their citizens' data, citing concerns about privacy. A 2004 agreement on the matter was struck down by the European Court of Justice earlier this year, and an interim agreement will expire on July 31. If a new accord isn't reached before then over the "passenger name records" (PNRs), airlines face being sued in Europe for sharing the data, or being denied landing permission in the U.S. if they do not. "I believe that there will very likely be increased privacy protections with respect to the PNR data," Teufel said on Thursday. "Whether it happens before the end of July or after the end of July is very difficult to say." He cautioned that he is not directly involved in the discussions, and would not elaborate on what the increased privacy protections might be. It was unclear if the concessions had been communicated to the European Union or would prompt it to ease its position. European parliamentarians have also expressed other concerns with the PNR system, including the amount of data being collected and the ways it will be used. A spokesman for Franco Frattini, the E.U.'s commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security, said it would be inappropriate to comment on Teufel's remarks while the talks are ongoing. "We are in the midst of negotiations," the spokesman said via e-mail. Teufel is a political appointee responsible for privacy policies at the Department of Homeland Security. He was in Europe to meet with privacy representatives in France and Germany to gather feedback and smooth relations between the two sides. He sought to dispel what he characterized as misinformation about the PNR system. The U.S. does not ask about meal choices to identify potential Muslim travelers, he said, calling that "absolutely false." Asked if credit card data is collected, he said: "To my knowledge the department is not pushing for that." He acknowledged theÂ divisions between U.S. and European attitudes to privacy. "I think Europeans are beginning to have a better understanding of U.S. privacy and U.S. privacy laws. I don't think Europeans as a whole have a sufficient understanding now," he said. "I am not surprised when I hear from a European their often-held view that the U.S. has no privacy laws. That's just false. We do have privacy laws, we care about privacy. What we do have is a different approach to privacy and a different approach to government."
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(InfoWorld) - A failure by the U.S. and European Union to reach a new agreement next month on the provision passenger data for transatlantic flights could ground up to 105,000 people each week, the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) director general said Thursday. The two sides need to reach a new accord by the end of September, after the European Court of Justice ruled in May that the current agreement is unacceptable. That agreement calls for airlines to provide U.S. authorities with the names, addresses, ticket payment details, and telephone numbers of passengers on U.S.-bound flights. The EU'sÂ highest court ruledÂ that there was no "appropriate legal basis" for the deal, and said it would cease to be valid from October. If a new agreement isn't reached before then, airlines will be forced to decide whether to continue providing the information in violation of European privacy law, withhold the information in violation of U.S. law, orÂ ground flights to avoid breaking any law, said Giovanni Bisignani, director general and CEO of IATA, at a news conference in Tokyo. "I hope that there will be an agreement because I know that the cooperation between the Homeland Security and European Union is strong and effective," he said. "I think there is time to find a decision," Bisignani said. "It's not up to me to say which is the best decision. It's up to me to say I look forward to increased cooperation and increased discussion between the two parties because we cannot be in a situation on Sept. 30 when we have to make the decision which law to break." Bisignani's comments came two days after U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff wrote in The Washington Post that the U.S. needs continued access to the personal information on passengers, and also wants the rules relaxed on how the information can be used. The US Customs and Border Protection receives the information regularly, he wrote, but cannot share it freely with investigators in other Department of Homeland Security divisions, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or with the Federal Bureau of Investigations -- "never mind with our allies in London." "This information might yet identify associates of those arrested in the plot in Britain, but the rules blind us in routinely searching for that connection," Chertoff wrote. The U.S. says the data allows them to identify certain passengers for additional screening when they arrive in the U.S. while reducing the amount of time spent on screening low-risk passengers.
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EU and U.S. officials reached a deal on Wednesday on the transfer to the United States of private data on transatlantic air passengers for use in the fight against terrorism, an EU spokesman said.
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European airlines entered a legal limbo over the weekend as a data-sharing agreement between the U.S. and the European Union expired with no resolution. The agreement shielded airlines from stringent EU data-privacy laws.
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Top European and U.S. officials kicked  off talks on Friday to try to replace an annulled deal on  sharing air passenger data to avoid possible disruptions to air  travel when the arrangement expires on September 30.
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The United States has reassured the  European Union that it will continue to apply restrictions on  the way it uses air passenger data until the two sides conclude  a new agreement, an EU spokesman said on Wednesday.
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(InfoWorld) - European Union and U.S. negotiators have reached agreement on how to share information about passengers flying to the U.S. from Europe, a Finnish government spokesman said Friday. The new deal allows many more U.S. government agencies to access the data, which includes details such as a passenger's name, address and credit card details.The agreement replaces one that was thrown out on a technicality by Europe's top court in May.U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has complained that the old agreement, which barred government agencies outside the customs and immigration offices from gaining access to the data, was hampering the U.S. in its fight against terrorism.Finland, holder of the six month rotating presidency of the E.U., helped broker the deal after the two sides reached an impasse at the end of last week.Failure to strike a new deal would have left airlines in legal limbo, facing major disruptions, fines and the possible loss of landing slots in the U.S. if they didn't provide the information the U.S authorities want, and data protection lawsuits in Europe if they did hand the information over.
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European Union and U.S. negotiators reached a deal on the sharing of trans-Atlantic air passenger data used in anti-terror investigations, diplomats said Friday.
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The European Union said Wednesday it expects tough negotiations with the United States on a new trans-Atlantic security agreement on airline passenger information.
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(InfoWorld) - European and U.S. security officials were locked in talks in Brussels Monday to replace a passenger data sharing agreement that wasÂ outlawed by a European courtÂ in May. The screening of airline passengers entering the U.S. became standard security procedure after the terrorist attacks on the U.S. five years ago. An agreement was struck with the European Union in 2003 permitting airlines carrying passengers to the U.S. to pass over 34 pieces of European citizens' private data to U.S. immigration officials withoutÂ breaching strict European data protection laws. With that agreementÂ due to expireÂ at the end of this month, after being thrown out on a legal technicality by the European Court of Justice, security officials are trying to agree on an interim accord to take over from Oct. 1. Senior U.S. security officials have demanded an interim accord more far-reaching than the existing one, while the European Parliament wants to limit its scope. Without a replacement agreement, airlines face a dilemma: if they don't hand over the passenger name records (PNRs), U.S. authorities may impose hefty fines or withdraw their landing rights, while if they do hand over the data, passengers may sue them for breaching their right to privacy under European laws. The Parliament recommended last Thursday that E.U. governments protect European citizens' civil liberties by ensuring that any fresh deal with the U.S. incorporates new privacy safeguards to prevent the profiling of passengers. Current rules exclude the Parliament from negotiations. Last week it demanded that the legal basis for a Trans-Atlantic data sharing agreement be changed to allow the Parliament joint responsibility for negotiating a long-term replacement accord. The European Commission, the E.U.'s executive body leading the negotiations on the European side, supports changing the legal basis for a new long term accord -- once the interim agreement is in place. Justice and security commissioner Franco Frattini last week said the issue "underlines the need for a single legal basis for justice, liberty and security issues." But he stressed that reaching an interim accord is paramount. "The most important need is to guarantee the continuity of application of the ... agreement, and legal certainty," he said. He wants the interim accord to be the same as the one it is replacing. "I ask the U.S. to agree on the same substance," he told journalists on his way into a meeting with U.S. officials last Thursday. However, it could also incorporate "rules and procedures which effectively restrict the use of PNR data by the U.S. authorities," he told the Parliament last week. Any attempt to limit the scope of the current accord will be fiercely resisted by U.S. officials. In an article published in The Washington Post last Tuesday, U.S. Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff asked for the lifting of restrictions on how data can be shared with other agencies. The existing accord forbids U.S. immigration officials from sharing the 34 pieces of data with any other government agency. "European privacy concerns have limited the ability of counterterrorism officials to gain broad access to data of this sort," Chertoff said. Frattini wrote to Chertoff Monday promising continued commitment to cooperating in the fight against terrorism. The E.U., he said, "is better prepared to respond than we were five years ago." However, the alleged terrorist plot to blow up trans-Atlantic flights that came to light in the U.K. in August shows that more cooperation is needed, he said. In addition to striking a new passenger data agreement with the U.S., Frattini told Chertoff that new priorities include monitoring the use of the Internet by terrorists.
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EU ministers meeting in Luxembourg plan moves to integrate their asylum and immigration procedures.
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EU capitals gave initial backing on Friday to a deal to supply U.S. authorities with data on transatlantic air passengers for use in terror probes pending final approval in some national parliaments, diplomats said.
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In a bid to improve security, ministers from five EU countries said today they hoped to start digital fingerprinting for passports in 2006, but they split over a German proposal to put illegal migrants in transit camps in North Africa.
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EU foreign ministers met on Monday to  make final preparations for a landmark decision later this week  to open entry talks with Turkey amid renewed evidence of strong  opposition to Turkish membership in key EU countries.
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European Union finance ministers wrestled with a proposal to overhaul an ineffective set of budget rules, but faced with lingering differences they postponed concrete action until January at the earliest.
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Interior ministers from five leading European Union countries  gathered here to try to smooth out differences over how to tackle illegal immigration and strengthen cooperation in the fight against terrorism.