US 'pleased' with air data climb down

Washington has welcomed an EU climb down on privacy rights for European air passengers.

Frits Bolkestein on Tuesday gave a Brussels green light for transfers of air passenger data to US security agencies.

The commissioner, with responsibility for data protection, is seeking to end a long-running Trans-Atlantic row over privacy rights for air travellers.

Bolkestein has told a joint committee of MEPs investigating breaches of EU privacy rights that the European Commission will sidestep a row with the US by agreeing to the transfers after American concessions.

His move has been welcomed by the US.

"We are pleased with the agreement that has been reached," said an American spokesman.

"It shows that the US and EU can work out complex issues together. And help ensure the safety of the travelling public and ensure rights of data privacy."

The data handovers of advance air passenger booking information was demanded in the aftermath of terror attacks on September 11 2001.

Transfers, in place since March, are in breach of EU law, a point that Bolkestein readily conceded on December 1 in another appearance before MEPs.

“It is a fact,” he said then. “We must get out of that illegal situation.”

The Dutch commissioner now argues there has been real progress and new concessions from Washington to overturn his earlier assessment.

A key American compromise on 'purpose limitation', the scope of crime fighting agencies allowed to access the data, was enough to clinch it for Bolkestein.

"When I last reported to you, the US side was still adamant that they wanted to use [the] data also for fighting serious domestic crime. This was the issue that I wanted to raise one last time," he told MEPs.

"I can now report to you that the US side has agreed to make the deletion we sought from the purpose limitation text. It now only refers to 'terrorism and related crimes' and to 'other serious crimes, including organised crime, of a trans-national nature'. Domestic crime is thus excluded."

MEPs, have to date, loudly held Brussels to account for the transfers which have continued in breach of EU law for over nine months.

The European Parliament on October 9 passed a resolution calling on the commission to ensure that transfers of data met EU standards.

But commission “guardians of the treaty” in Brussels do not believe this is a realistic option.

“With regard to the demands of the European Parliament… it is clear… that not all of the parliament’s demands have been met and furthermore that some cannot be met, failing a complete change of approach on the US side,” states a commission document.

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