Europese Commissie drukt uitwisseling passagiersgegevens met VS door, ondanks bezwaren Europees Parlement (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission is today (12 May) set to press ahead with a EU-US deal on the transfer of airline passenger data despite the European Parliament's request for a court ruling.

A regular meeting of Commissioners in Brussels is expected to approve the controversial transfer in spite of misgivings from the European Parliament and civil society.

Speaking during a visit to the US on Monday, Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Antonio Vitorino declined to predict the outcome of the Commission meeting but hinted that approval is likely.

"I don't want to anticipate those decisions, but [it is] likely those decisions will be in favour", he said.

"That will most likely change the nature of the case, the court case, that has been raised by the Parliament".

Last December, after a year of negotiations, the United States and the EU reached a preliminary agreement on the legal transfer of information on passengers including name, address, phone number, credit cards and their travelling companions.

The European Commission issued an "adequacy finding" that affirmed that US privacy protections are legal and sufficient to guard passenger privacy.

But on 21 April, the European Parliament said that the transfer of such personal data breached EU privacy laws, and voted to refer the matter to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.

Last week, the new enlarged parliament also turned down member states' attempts to have MEPs vote again on the issue.

Airlines facing fines

In a letter last week to European Parliament President Pat Cox, Dutch left-liberal MEP Johanna Boogerd-Quaak said that if the Commission and the Council decide to conclude the EU-US agreement on data transfer, the European Parliament's request for an opinion of the Court of Justice would be "without purpose".

"Moreover, Parliament may not be able to challenge the Commission and Council acts during the two months deadline fixed by the Treaty (17 May - 17 July) as it would be rather difficult for the new Parliament to react in time", she added.

New general elections for the European Parliament are going to be held 10-13 June.

The US has been requesting the data since the 11 September attacks in 2001 in order to combat terrorist threats.

Airlines failing to provide passenger data to US security agencies within 15 minutes of a flight's departure already face the possibility of fines of 6,000 euro per passenger or potential loss of landing rights in the US.

Today's decision by the European Commission is likely to be confirmed by member states during a meeting on 17 May.