EU data deal with the US

12.00.00am GMT Wed 17th Dec 2003

All eyes were on the European Parliament's Committee on Citizens' Freedoms, Justice and Home Affairs yesterday. The unusual presence of four Commissioners was to announce that agreement has finally been reached on the transfer of airline passenger data to the US.

East Midlands Liberal Democrat MEP Bill Newton Dunn, a member of the committee, said, "This is an example of where the European Union has achieved something that Member States could not do alone. We achieved many concessions from the US, such as a reduction in the number of types of data collected to 34, the reduction in the length of time for which data will be held from 50 years to three and a half years, the exclusion of the use of the data for the investigation of domestic crimes, and an improved system of redress.

"The problem is that in Europe, each individual has privacy rights over their electronic data - whereas in the USA the data belongs to the collector, not the individual.

"The demands made by the US in the aftermath of September 11 that European airlines immediately give up their passenger data, and the difficulty in reconciling this with EU data protection laws, is part of a wider problem. There is an increasing array of anti-terrorism measures in all countries. We need comprehensive, coherent rules to ensure that human rights are respected and are balanced appropriately with the need for security.

"I welcome the announcement by Commissioner Vitorino that new EU-wide proposals on data protection and the fight against terrorism will be published by mid 2004 and hope that momentum on this important issue is not lost. International, not just European, standards are needed urgently if we are to prevent human rights being lost into an area of grey uncertainty."

ENDS