By Martin Banks - 20th April 2010
We want greatly strengthened citizens' privacy and legal protection
Claude Moraes
Member states have been urged to postpone a decision expected later this week on a new draft on data agreement between the US and EU.
Justice and home affairs ministers were expected to endorse the new draft, proposed by the commission, at a meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday and Friday.
But the council has now been asked to postpone any decision pending a debate and possible vote on the issue in parliament.
MEPs were due to debate the draft guidelines and adopt a resolution on Wednesday.
The debate will still go ahead but all parliamentary votes have been cancelled this week in the wake of the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud.
In light of this, the Socialist group, the second biggest in parliament, has formally asked the council to postpone any decision this week.
Speaking at a news conference in parliament on Tuesday, group leader Martin Schulz said, "We hope any decision will be put off to enable parliament to adopt a resolution on the agreement."
But Greens/EFA joint leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit said he feels such a delay is "unlikely".
He said, "I cannot see council postponing a decision this week. I would be surprised if that happens.
"The real problem with this agreement will come when the two sides, the EU and US, come to negotiate it. We need to know what member states can and cannot accept.
"At present, what we have is a tug-of-war between parliament and council with the commission in the middle, seemingly not knowing where it stands."
A commission spokesman told this website the new draft deal was "substantially different" to the one recently rejected by parliament because of concerns over citizens' privacy.
It addresses, he said, MEP concerns about the "right of address" when data is misused and the scope of data being used.
He said this week's justice ministerial meeting is "very likely" to approve the draft, paving the way for a new round of negotiations between EU and US officials.
"The US is very keen on getting all this wrapped up by June," he said.
The US wants access to information about money transfers in Europe, saying it is crucial in tracking suspected terrorists.
Negotiations on a new agreement between Washington and Brussels could start as soon as this month, pending a green light from EU governments.
Washington was forced to seek an agreement on data sharing with the EU when the society for worldwide interbank financial telecommunication (Swift), which tracks money transfers, changed its server infrastructure several months ago.
Any new deal will have to address concerns by MEPs over privacy safeguards such as the right to complain if citizens feel their data is misused.
Deputies also want provisions against sending bulk packages of information instead of data on specific cases.
The EU is also considering whether to launch its own programme to track the finances of suspected terrorists and would want the US to reciprocate in sharing data.
Further comment came from S&D civil liberties, justice and home affairs spokesman, Claude Moraes, who said, "We expect the council to have learned the lesson.
"S&D consider the fight against terrorism to be a high priority. At the same time, we want greatly strengthened citizens' privacy and legal protection at all stages of the process, that is, ensuring EU oversight on the processing and transfer of bank data as well as citizens' rights over their own personal data, notably rights of access, rectification, compensation and redress."
He said parliament will demand a "fair, effective and proportionate agreement in line with these concerns".
"Many of these issues are not easy to solve and will require strong political leadership based on a large endorsement and constant involvement in the negotiation phase," he added.
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