Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats
The European Parliament and the US will this week resume arm-wrestling over access to EU citizens' private information, including flight, bank and other personal data. A parliamentary delegation led by EP Vice President Stavros Lambrinidis (S&D) is heading today to Washington for a new round of talks. Spanish S&D member Carmen Romero López will also join the delegation.
The talks are expected to focus mainly on thorny aspects of anti-terrorist measures, such as implementation of the controversial SWIFT agreement and the scope and provisions of two draft agreements on Passenger Name Records and Data Protection.
S&D position on the EU-US agreement on data protection:
- Need for a secure framework and for uniform standards to ensure stability in transatlantic political and commercial relations;
- Right to judicial redress: ensure the same conditions for EU citizens in the US as for US citizens in the EU;
- Scope of the agreement: it must cover all bilateral agreements between US and European countries and be limited to law enforcement;
- Ensure a high level of guarantees for onward transfer of data to other branches of the administration and to third countries.
S&D position on the EU-US Passenger Name Records (PNR) agreement:
- Purpose limitation: PNR data can only be used for preventing and combating terrorism and other forms of serious crime, in accordance with the EU framework decision on the European Arrest Warrant and on Terrorism;
- Proportionality: The use of PNR data must be proportionate, legal, minimised, and commensurate with the objective to be achieved;
- EU citizens must be granted legal redress against potential abuses;
- PNR data cannot be used to create risk profiles or for data mining: decisions on passengers cannot be computer-generated and must also be taken on a case-by-case basis;
- PNR information can only be exchanged with third countries in the framework of international agreements provided that an adequate level of data protection is guaranteed;
- The US authorities cannot have direct access to passenger records but airlines will provide them on the basis of a specific request (so called PUSH system).
The full European Parliament will vote on the PNR agreement in July in Strasbourg.
For further information or interviews on the state of this new round of negotiations, please contact :
Paolo Alberti
+ 32 2 283 20 40
+ 33 3 88 16 40 82
+ 32 476 95 51 44
Contacts
Associated media
Data protection: S&D to lead new round of EU-US talks. The European Parliament and the US will this week resume arm-wrestling over access to EU citizens' private information, including flight, bank and other personal data. A parliamentary delegation led by EP Vice President Stavros Lambrinidis (S&D) is heading today to Washington for a new round of talks
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