Brussels, 25/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - Reaching an agreement on the transfer of airline passengers' data between the EU and the US as part of the fight against terrorism (PNR system) is not going to be “easy”, the competent rapporteur of the EP, Sophia In't Veld (ALDE), said on Tuesday 24 May, as the United States has adopted a “tough” approach to the negotiations and the main concerns raised by the EP in the last several years remain “the same”, the Dutch MEP continued. In a session behind closed doors on Tuesday, the European Commission brought the committee on civil liberties of the EP up to speed with its negotiations with the US and the initial conclusions reached by both parties. It also presented the draft agreement it has sketched out on the same subject with Australia. This draft agreement is likely to have fewer problems getting past the EP, as the rapporteur said she was “more optimistic” on this: for example, Australia has data protection standards and supervision authorities which are close to those of the EU and even though “there are still many things to clarify”, added In't Veld, the subject is likely to be more consensual for the EP. The time being, the EP committee has scheduled a vote on the PNR with Australia for 16 June and a plenary vote shortly afterwards. This timetable, however, could be held up by the work of the Council, particularly if the British and Irish decide to take three months of reflection before stating whether they will get on board this agreement. According to other sources of the Council and the EP, the many points of this agreement still to be clarified, and the decision of the United Kingdom and Ireland, could see the dossier shelved until September.
This will, de facto, delay “the vote on the PNR with the United States”, an EP source explained. In the view of the rapporteur and other members of the LIBE committee, the major outstanding questions are those which relate to the general objectives of the agreement which, at this stage, some people feel are broader than in the previous agreement and refer to more offences, the length of time for which the data will be held (15 years, 5 years in an active database and 10 in a dormant one) and the data protection supervision, as the data will be held by internal teams of the Homeland Security Department of the United States, whereas the MEPs wanted to see a genuinely independent authority set up. However, the EP is only just beginning its work and “we are only at a very, very early stage” at this point, continued In't Veld, who went on to point out that “time is on our side” as “we were supposed to have given our consent to these agreements 18 months ago”. The EP can, therefore, make good use of this time as a means of “keeping up the pressure”, as the main thing, In't Veld explained, is to reach “a really good agreement”. (S.P./transl.fl)