EU will try and clinch new air passenger data deal with US

Jun 19, 2006, 13:30 GMT

Brussels - The European Commission on Monday said it would try and clinch a new agreement with the United States under which European Union countries will have to provide Washington with advance information on air passengers travelling to the US.

The proposed pact, covering exchange of data on payments, travel itineraries and US contact addresses of European passengers, will replace a transatlantic deal negotiated in 2004 which was ruled illegal last month by the EU's highest court.

The court said the legal basis of the agreement was not in conformity with EU regulations.  But it did not question the contents of the deal.

EU officials said the commission had now used a different legal framework for its proposals, in the hope of meeting the court's demands.

A commission spokesman said, however, that the content of the agreement was not being changed despite objections from some EU lawmakers who have argued the data exchange agreement breaches privacy rights.

'The content of the current agreement has not been criticized by the court and should therefore continue to offer the same level of safeguards regarding the legal certainty for air carriers,' the commission said in a statement.

The European Court of Justice said the initial agreement had been wrongly based on rules on the supply of commercial services. It gave the EU until September 30 to find a new solution.

The commission said it now wanted the new pact to be based on EU provisions for public security and criminal law.

All 25 EU justice ministers have to back the commission's proposal before negotiations can start with the US in July.

Under the current pact,European air carriers are obliged to give US authorities 34 pieces of information about each passenger flying to the US.

Washington argues the information is vital to fight terrorism following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and has warned that airlines would face fines of up to 4,700 euros (6,000 dollars) and lose landing rights if they did not comply.

Data collected under the deal are called passenger name records, or PNRs. They include information such as credit card numbers, travel itineraries, addresses and telephone numbers.

The European Parliament took the issue to the European Court of Justice, arguing that the deal endangers European citizens' fundamental rights and freedoms.

Since March 2003, the EU and the US have been exchanging data under an informal arrangement. But airlines had argued for a permanent legal settlement.

The EU struck a similar deal with Canada last year that transfers passenger names to the Canada Border Services Agency, which has promised to treat the information in line with EU data protection rules.