EU, U.S. reach new anti-terror data sharing deals
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The European Union and the United States on Wednesday struck two deals designed to ensure U.S. access to private and bank data in its war against terrorism while trying to allay European privacy concerns.
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(InfoWorld) - A law allowing security officials in Germany to create the largest and most comprehensive pool of personal data ever amassed in the country goes into effect Thursday as the European Union's largest member state moves to protect itself against possible terrorist attacks. The databases of nearly 40 different agencies, including the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), will be linked to allow authorities to run searches on suspected individuals and retrieve information within minutes. Support for the security measure has grown in Germany and many other E.U. member states that worry about their national security being increasingly threatened by international terrorism, organized crime, and illegal immigration. To what extent the numerous databases are already linked -- BKA alone has more than 100 -- and how access to data will be controlled are details the German government isn't prepared to disclose. What is know is that an expanded index file will be created for suspected terrorists. The file will contain the person's name, bank account number, telephone number, e-mail address, driver's license information and other data, including the names of companies, organizations and other parties associated with the person and linked to terrorist groups. Germany is at the forefrontÂ of European efforts to fight terrorism. In a December meeting of E.U. justice ministers in Dresden, the German government sought support for a package of measures that could give police and other security forces in the region unprecedented access to a range of individuals' personal data. The measures, known as the Treaty of Plum after the German town where the accord was signed by several E.U. member states in 2005, would allow police and other security agencies in different countries to search each other's databases for DNA records, fingerprints, vehicle registrations and other personal information. During its E.U. presidency, Germany hopes to muster enough support to turn the private Treaty of Plum into E.U. law. Â
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The US and the EU agree a new deal to share details about airline passengers, officials say.
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EU and US negotiators strike a deal on sharing information on passengers wishing to fly to the US.
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The latest agreement allows many more U.S. government agencies to access data about passengers flying to the U.S. from Europe, including details such as a passenger's name, address and credit card 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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European Union citizens will be protected by the U.S. Privacy Act under an anti-terror deal with Washington on the sharing of trans-Atlantic air passenger data, the EU's top justice official said Monday.
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EU diplomats approve a deal allowing the Swift bank transfer firm to continue sharing data with the US.
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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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SCHEVENINGEN, Netherlands Attorney General John Ashcroft and European Union officials have agreed to improve the flow of intelligence to help track down terrorists and prevent attacks.
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The European Union approved a deal on  Wednesday setting conditions for the U.S. Treasury Department  to consult records of the international banking network SWIFT  in anti-terror probes, EU diplomats said.
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European Union governments are pushing through contentious new plans to retain data from telephone calls and e-mails for a minimum period of 12 months as part of new anti-terrorist and cybercrime proposals.
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The European Union hopes to reach an  agreement with the United States next Friday on a new pact on  sharing airline passenger data, the European Commission said on  Sunday.
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PARIS, Oct. 6 -- European officials agreed Friday to grant more U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies easier access to detailed personal data on all transatlantic air passengers, despite concerns over individual privacy and fears that the information could be misused.
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BRUSSELS -- The European Union hopes to reach a new agreement with the United States on sharing air passenger data next week after failing to do so before the previous pact expired, the European Commission said.
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European Union ambassadors approved a last-minute deal clinched on Friday with the United States on the transfer of personal data on transatlantic air passengers to U.S. authorities to help combat terrorism, an EU presidency spokesman said.
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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.