"EU Formally Signs New Trans-Atlantic Air Passenger Data Deal with US"

Monday, October 16, 2006

EU Formally Signs New Trans-Atlantic Air Passenger Data Deal with US
The Associated Press


The European Union signed an interim deal Monday allowing the United States
to use trans-Atlantic air passenger data for anti-terror investigations.

Finland's Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, whose country holds the EU
presidency, signed the agreement on behalf of the 25-nation bloc.

The signing marks the approval of all EU governments to the deal reached 10
days ago between EU and U.S. negotiators. However, all 25 nations still must
have the agreement ratified by their parliaments, which the EU said should
be completed by Wednesday.

The interim deal, which is valid until July 2007, replaces a 2004 air
passenger privacy deal that the EU's high court voided last year for
technical reasons.

Washington and Brussels hope to reach a permanent deal to replace the
interim one sometime next year.

Under the deal, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will no longer have
an automatic right to pull data from European airlines' computer systems,
and must instead ask for such information.

Reaching a new deal had been an EU priority to ensure airlines could
continue to legally submit 34 pieces of data about passengers flying from
Europe to the United States. Such data - including passengers' names,
addresses and credit card details - must be transferred to U.S. authorities
within 15 minutes of a flight's departure for the United States.

Washington had warned that airlines failing to share passenger data faced
fines of up to US$6,000 per passenger and the loss of landing rights.

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