New pact would give EU citizens' private data to US
Pastor Dale Morgan
New pact would give EU citizens' private data to US*
* Ian Traynor in Paris
* The Guardian,
* Monday June 30, 2008
A comprehensive transatlantic pact clearing the way for the
unprecedented supply of private data on European citizens to the
American authorities is to be promoted by France in support of the
US-driven campaign to combat terrorism and transnational crime.
The French government is expected to use its six-month presidency of the
EU, starting tomorrow, to build on 18 months of confidential
negotiations between Washington and Brussels aimed at clearing the
complex legal obstacles to the exchange of personal information with the
Americans.
The controversial proposed pact, a "framework agreement" on common data
protection principles, is likely to enable the Americans to access the
credit card histories, banking details and travel habits of Europeans,
although senior officials in Brussels deny US reports that the Americans
will also be able to snoop on the internet browsing records of Europeans.
"Everybody's keen on this and sees the benefit of it. The French are
very keen to continue the work," said a senior official in Brussels.
"There's all sorts of information stored on computers nowadays that may
be of interest to law enforcement agencies. If we reach agreement, we
may well contemplate turning it into a binding international agreement."
The Americans want to seal the accord this year, while George Bush is
still in the White House. But the European commission, running the
negotiations along with EU member states, believes a quick deal is
unlikely and that its conclusion will hinge on the energy with which the
incoming US administration tackles the subject.
The negotiations, being conducted by a "high-level contact group" of
European and US department of homeland security officials, have been led
for the past 18 months by Stewart Baker on the US side and Jonathan
Faull, a Briton responsible for justice and home affairs in the commission.
The US drive to gain access to the private data of Europeans is the
latest episode in a systematic American campaign.
Under separate agreements being negotiated, Washington is insisting on
having armed guards on flights from Europe to the US, is introducing a
new electronic travel authorisation system where travellers to the US
would need to apply online for permission to fly before buying a ticket,
and last year the EU yielded to American pressure to supply the US
authorities with 19 pieces of information on passengers flying from
Europe to America.
Washington is using its visa-waiver system, making travel to the US
visa-free for most European countries, to force EU states to comply with
its demands.
"This is outrageous," said Sophie In't Veld, a Dutch Liberal MEP on the
European parliament's civil liberties committee. "This is about
fundamental rights. But it has all been done in secret by civil servants
behind closed doors."
The two sides are said to have reached agreement on about a dozen areas,
but a big sticking point remains legal redress for Europeans who feel
they are being victimised by US possession of information that may be
incorrect or used incorrectly.