Luxembourg, 06/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - On Friday morning, the European Union announced it had finally reached an agreement with the United States on passing on details of air passengers travelling to the United States. The new agreement embodies the principle of availability, stipulating that US counter-terrorism agencies, like the FBI, will be able to have easier access to air passenger records.
“I am very pleased to announce that discussions on air passenger data have reached a final positive point, thus allowing us to avoid a legal vacuum”, said the Finnish Justice Minister, Leena Luhtanen, in her capacity as President of the JHA Council. “This is an interim agreement that will take effect end July 2007 and which will allow us in the meantime to discuss a more lasting system”, Ms Luhtanen said. After nine hours of “extremely intense” bargaining by video-conference from Luxembourg, the European negotiators, the Finnish Foreign Minsitetr Erkki Tuomioja, the Director of DG Justice, Freedom and Security at the Commission, and the US delegation headed by the Under Secretary of State for Security, Steward Baker, reached a compromise on Friday morning to replace the 2004 agreement cancelled in May by the European Court of Justice (EUROPE 9277). The agreement was then officially approved by the EU25 justice ministers. In practice, the principle of availability supposes that it is still the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) bureau that will collect the data but the Department of Homeland Security may pass on the data more easily to agencies responsible for combating terrorism. By the end of the year, airline companies should themselves be able to forward data to the US Administration. A recent change in the US law compels intelligence services to share information on people travelling to the United States. The senatorial committee of inquiry on the attacks of 11 September had noted failings on this side. “These agencies will not have direct access to the data and they should comply with the same protection standards” as the CBP, Frattini assured. There will, moreover, be a way to the PUSH system, which prohibits automatic access to European air passenger data without prior request from airline companies and no use of this information without a security guarantee. Nonetheless, the PUSH decision will not be up to airline companies but up to the State Security Department. It should be noted, however, that the essential part of the guarantees on data protection is contained in a document annexed to the agreement. Finally, elements such as the number of points of information that can be forwarded (total 34) remain unchanged compared to the 2004 agreement. The ability of the United States to transmit data collected in certain third countries remains unchanged also. This interim agreement, which for now has been initialled by the Council Presidency and Commission, will probably be officially signed next Wednesday or Thursday. It should enter into force on 1 November 2006. Americans and Europeans will meet in November in Washington to discuss a new, broader agreement in July 2007. (bc)