Negotiators from the EU and US reached a deal on sharing trans-Atlantic air passenger data used in anti-terror investigations, diplomats said yesterday.
Details of the agreement -- reached a week after the two sides missed an Oct. 1 deadline -- were not immediately revealed. It followed a trans-Atlantic video conference lasting at least seven hours, said EU diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity, as EU government representatives had not yet been formally notified of the deal.
Negotiators were briefing the 25 EU ambassadors of the content of the deal before more discussions by EU justice and interior ministers later yesterday.
The EU ministers were expected to endorse the accord, which replaces a 2004 trans-Atlantic air passenger privacy deal that the EU high court voided last May for technical reasons. The deal that was re-negotiated is an interim agreement. The EU and the US hope to conclude a permanent one next year.
Negotiations collapsed last week when EU negotiators -- seeking a simple replacement accord -- could not agree to a request by US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff for a more routine sharing of passenger data among US law enforcement agencies.
Reaching a new deal had been an EU priority to ensure airlines could continue to legally submit 34 pieces of data about passengers flying from Europe to US destinations. Such data -- including passengers' names, addresses and credit card details -- must be transferred to US authorities within 15 minutes of a flight's departure for the US.
Washington had warned that airlines failing to share passenger data faced fines of up to US$6,000 per passenger and the loss of landing rights.
During the negotiations EU officials stressed they shared Washington's concerns about terrorism, but demanded strict data protection guarantees in return for a more routine sharing of personal details of air passengers among US government law enforcement officials.
However, the arduous talks reflected deep divisions between the US and the EU over measures taken to prevent terror attacks and to what length governments should go in curbing personal freedoms to prevent attacks.
Washington and Brussels have already faced off over the US administration's use of secret CIA detention centers in Europe for holding and interrogating suspected terrorists.
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