MEPs attack US Senate over passenger data law

MEPs have criticised moves in the US Senate to link the transfer of airline passenger information (PNR) with the lifting of visa requirements for EU member states.

The latest draft of a new bill on the Visa Waiver Program, which allows tourists and business ­travellers to enter the US without visas, says that countries ­admitted to the programme must agree "to share information ­regard­ing whether nationals of that country ­travelling to the United States represent a threat to the ­security or welfare of the United States or its ­citizens".

Stavros Lambrinidis, a Greek Socialist MEP, said that, if the final law ended with these criteria, it would put pressure on EU states not participating in the Visa Waiver Program to do bilateral deals with the US to transfer passenger data and violate European data protection laws. "If the Senate is pushing for this, they are out of date. There is a new deal being negotiated with the US and bilaterally under no circumstances should a member state be pushed into violating European law to get on the Visa Waiver Program," he said.

Dutch Liberal MEP Sophie in ‘t Veld said: "This is the US saying they won’t grant inclusion into the Visa Waiver ­Program unless the EU gives more on PNR. It’s a negotiating tool and it’s something I don’t like. I haven’t heard any indication the EU would go for it."

EU officials travelled to Washington last week to discuss the programme and to kick off negotiations on a new deal to transfer airline passenger data to the US.

Twelve EU countries are not included in the Visa Waiver Program, including Greece and all new member states, except Slovenia. The issue has caused anger among these states which say the US is not treating all EU ­countries equally.

The European Commission in a report last October suggested imposing visa requirements on US diplomats if progress was not made on the issue.

Transferring airline passenger data is one of four criteria in the latest draft of the Senate bill for entry into the programme.

The other criteria include the reporting of stolen or lost passports, the re-admission of refused travellers and the implementation of a new electronic travel authorisation system.

A state must also have a low rate of refusal of entry for its nationals.

Lambrinidis added that the criterion on passenger data exchange would set double standards for the 12 EU states, since the other member states ­currently in the prog­ramme did not have such conditions imposed on them. "They seem to be setting new loop-holes and it smacks of attempts to discriminate," he said.

"This is all about ­treating EU citizens in an equal manner…they should not discriminate between one state and ­another," said Maltese centre-right MEP Simon Busuttil.

The bill will be debated within the coming months in Congress when further amendments may be made. The EU hopes that the bill will be finalised before the summer.

MEPs have criticised moves in the US Senate to link the transfer of airline passenger information (PNR) with the lifting of visa requirements for EU member states.