23/01/2004 (Agence Europe) - Italian Green Marco Cappato indicated in a press statement that the Belgian Committee on the protection of private life recently observed in December in an opinion sent to the Belgian minister of justice that US airlines had transferred his personal data to the US authorities during his journeys from Brussels to the US and had violated Belgian law on the application of European legislation on privacy. Mr Cappato declared that the Commission was currently attempting to reach a compromise with the USA in order to "strengthen guarantees provided in the processing of personal data" when in fact "Europe, at both a European Commission and Member State level would be able to, if it wished, to make airlines respect the law. Mr Cappato pointed out that the EP public freedoms committee would have to decide over the next few weeks of the possibility of an appeal to the European Court of Justice against the Commission for breach of European legislation on privacy.