Napolitano (VS): 'Wij zoeken toenadering met de EU' (en)

Reciprocity is the recipe for progress on contentious EU-US civil liberties issues such as data protection and visa waiver, MEPs told US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano at an extraordinary meeting on Friday. On the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, Ms Napolitano said "Our belief is that Guantanamo has been used more as a recruitment tool than anything else".

The Lisbon Treaty's entry into force will give the European Parliament "many more powers than in the past", enabling it to engage in parliamentary diplomacy on issues hitherto restricted to intergovernmental co-operation, noted Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee Chair Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar (S&D, ES).

MEPs debated the future of translatlantic co-operation with US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano at a joint meeting of the Civil Liberties Committee and Parliament's delegation for relations with the USA.

"There are many expectations on our side vis-à-vis the Obama administration", declared Carlos Coelho (EPP, PT), Chair of Parliament's former temporary committee on CIA activities in Europe. He called on Ms Napolitano to "lift the ban on access to documents relating to negotiations" and observed that reciprocity should guide transatlantic dialogue.

Visa waiver

"It is our task in the transatlantic dialogue to talk with the US Congress about issues such as visa waivers, said Parliament's US delegation Chair Elmar Brok (EPP, DE), stressing the need to bring the two sides' rapporteurs together to work on the issues aired at the meeting. Ms Napolitano replied that this needed to be looked at case by case, because although visa waivers are very important, some in Congress see them as a loophole in the US security system.

Guantanamo

Ana Gomes (S&D, PT) wanted to know what is being done regarding the closure of Guantanamo. As a former member of Parliament's temporary committee on CIA activities, she called on the current US administration to disclose information on EU countries' involvement in rendition programmes.

"Our belief is that Guantanamo has been used more as a recruitment tool than anything else", said Ms Napolitano.

If Guantanamo is not closed by 22 January 2010 as planned "it will be a disappointment", said Rui Tavares (GUE/NGL, PT).

Passenger name records

"May we end up in a situation where we will have to renegotiate the PNR agreement?", asked Sophie in t'Veld (ALDE, NL), adding that "we urgently need information on the results of the counter-terrorism policies". Ms in t'Veld also asked about US plans to tax all visa-free visitors: "Will I have to leave 10 dollars and 10 fingerprints next time?" she asked. 

Ms Napolitano replied that this money would be earmarked specifically for promoting travel and tourism: "the aim is to help tourists", she said. On PNR, she replied that she would "be pleased to have a joint review on PNR and to set a date for this (…) PNR review is something we should jointly undertake".

Exit/entry control systems

Sarah Ludford (ALDE, UK) called on the US to share any studies and conclusions with regard to the US exit control system, as a European Commission proposal for a similar EU system is to be considered next year.

Profiling: avoid stigmatising communities

Timothy Kirkhope (ECR, UK) worried about the consequences of personal data profiling, which "gives some groups, and notably Muslims, the impression that they are all potential suspects". Here "we must reach out to certain communites", replied Ms Napolitano, adding that "we all have laws against such profiles and we must be prudent". Jan-Philipp Albrecht (Greens/EFA, DE) called for an independent evaluation of data issues, so as to "make sure we don’t 'hit rock bottom' on data protection".

Co-chairs

Juan Fernando López Aguilar (S&D, ES), Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee

Elmar Brok (PPE, DE), Delegation for relations with the USA