Brussels, 20/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 19 March, the European Union and the US, represented by EU Commissioner Viviane Reding and the US Secretary for Trade John Bryson respectively, expressed their different approaches with regard to personal data protection. In a joint press release the European Commission and the US authorities indicated that this exchange of views occurred during a video conference.
At the end of January, the European Commission submitted its revision of the 1995 directive, which was divided into a regulation on trade data and a directive on data covered within the remit of police co-operation (see EUROPE 10539). At the end of February, Washington followed suit by proposing a charter of rights for internet users. The conference on 19 March enabled the two parties to reiterate their common commitments, namely enhancing consumer trust in the digital economy, boosting this field and guaranteeing the interoperability of their respective systems, explained the joint press release. The EU and US nevertheless diverged on what method should be used: the EU has opted for binding legislation, which also applies to concerns regarding the US search engine Google, whereas the US advocates a voluntary approach. The conference focused on the single issue of trade data and not data covered within the context of police co-operation. This data will be examined in the context of the future transatlantic agreement on data protection, which the Europeans would like to rapidly conclude with Washington and which is due to apply to all future sectoral agreements, such as PNR. (SP/transl.fl)