Strasbourg, 10/07/2007 (Agence Europe) - Several MEPs expressed their deep concern over the preliminary agreement on the transfer of air passenger data - PNR, Passenger Name Record - negotiated by the EU and the US at the end of June (see EUROPE 9457 and 9458). Kathalijne Buitenweg (Greens/EFA, Netherlands) said on Monday that this agreement was “scandalous”, and she said she wanted to challenge it in the Court of Justice. In May 2006, the Court delivered a judgment on the original PNR agreement, but the judges only gave their verdict on the legal basis of the text, not its substance. On Thursday, the European Parliament will vote on a resolution at the request of Sophie In't Veld (ALDE, Netherlands). She said that the chances of winning at the Court were very slim. She used Monday's plenary debate to strongly criticise the assurances given by Commissioner Franco Frattini who pointed out that the protection offered by the US Privacy Act would be extended to non-US citizens. Ms In't Veld pointed out that the Bush administration used “all sorts of exceptions and exemptions to the Privacy Act”. She was particularly critical of that the length of time that data can be retained was extended and could now be up to 15 years (rather than three and a half in the previous agreement). “The reduction from 34 to 19 data is an insult to our intelligence. If you look at the data, it is not a reduction: the 34 are merged into 19 data fields. I am not stupid. We may not have any powers here, but we are not stupid,” she said. National parliaments would have no power either, she said. “Those national parliaments that get to approve the agreement got only summary information and hardly any time for an in-depth debate. You can only say Yes or Yes. It is a farce,” she fulminated. (bc)