Brussels, 02/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - Negotiations with the US on the transfer of air passenger information - PNR (Passenger Name Records) - are expected to result in an agreement by the end of July, Director General OF DG Justice, Liberty and Security of the European Commission Jonathan Faull said on Friday. “We are hopeful that by the time the current agreement expires, we will be in a position to present a new agreement to the Council,” he said at a press conference. Mr Faull, accompanied by representatives of the German presidency (which is leading the talks) and the Council, travelled to Washington at the beginning of the week, to prepare future negotiations with US authorities. The aim is to reach a new agreement by July, to replace the interim agreement concluded in October 2006, which itself replace a first text that was annulled by the European Court of Justice (see EUROPE 9281).
The EU hopes to reduce to the “strict minimum” the amount of data relating to trans-Atlantic passengers that are currently sent to the US as part of the fight against terrorism, pointed out the Commission chief negotiator, after a first exploratory round. The interim agreement provides for the automatic transfer of 34 pieces of personal data (passenger's address, phone number and credit card number etc.). Mr Faull indicated that some of these 34 pieces of data are, in fact, never transferred, particularly if the passenger does not ask for a specific seat on board the plane. Apart from the number of transferable pieces of data, negotiations will also focus on how long these data can be held, which agencies will have access to the data and the circumstances under which they can be transferred to law enforcement officials. The data are collected by the US Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP), but the US Department of Homeland Security can, under certain condition, share them with other American agencies, such ad the FBI, involved in the fight against terrorism. Mr Faull also stressed that there had to be mutual sharing of information between the EU and the US. The EU also intends to stand firm on the effective implementation of the “Push” system instead of the current “Pull” system (see EUROPE 9281). According to Mr Faull, the problem is that the implementation of the new system could be “expensive” and it will probably be up to the air companies to foot the bill. Further discussions will take place over the next few weeks via video-conferencing, Mr Faull said, pointing out, however, that negotiations will, unquestionably, be difficult. A first detail account of the state of progress of the negotiations will be given by the Commission on 5 April.
Other subjects for discussion between European and American negotiators were also raised, notably the “Swift” affair, and the Visa Waiver Program. They also discussed the US idea of scanning every container that entered the country. The commissioner responsible for the customs union, Lásló Kovács will travel to Washington on 4-8 March for meetings with the US secretary of state for homeland security Michael Chertoff. (bc)