America will not renegotiate controversial air data deal

Date: 29/04/04

AMERICA will not renegotiate the controversial deal under which European airlines must hand over air passengers' personal data to US security agencies to enable them to identify potential terrorists.

That is the "get-tough" message from top US official Asa Hutchinson who was responding to last week's European Parliament decision to refer the EU-US agreement on the transfer of air passenger data to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

A final court decision may be up to two years away, but it is widely expected that if the Luxembourg-based ECJ rules against the deal, the Washington authorities and the European Commission would have to go back to the drawing board and thrash out a new agreement.

Hutchinson, under-secretary for border and transportation security in the US department of homeland security, told European Voice, however, that America would not entertain any renegotiation.

"It took us and the European Commission eight long months to work out this deal. We are fully satisfied with it are not interested in renegotiating it," he said.

"I do not want to speculate on what the court may decide but, as far as we're concerned, the agreement enhances passenger safety and protects civil liberties.

"I took note of Parliament's very narrow vote on this and, particularly after the awful events in Madrid, I detect a growing awareness among MEPs and others of the need for such an agreement."

While accepting that uncertainty about the long-term viability of the deal might cause problems for airlines, he dismissed fears that the upcoming legal challenge will cause chaos for US-bound travellers.

"I have read all sorts of scare stories that passengers will now face massive delays at airports, but this simply is not going to happen. The transfer of passenger data will continue until we are told differently and there will be no long queues," he said.

Under the deal, most personal details given at check-in, including addresses, phone numbers, date of birth and credit card numbers, are sent to the US as soon as passengers leave Europe.

Despite the furore the rejection of the deal by Parliament has caused, Hutchinson said he does not believe it will adversely affect transatlantic relations. "I don't think the Parliament's decision has damaged the EU-US accord. This is all about respecting each other's systems and our goals, to defeat the terrorists, remain the same."

Hutchinson was speaking on Monday (26 April) after meeting Jonathan Faull, the Commission's justice and home affairs director-general, and the EU's new anti-terrorism coordinator, Gijs de Vries.

Hutchinson's comments were echoed by his European counterparts, with Faull saying the agreement strikes the right balance between security and civil liberties, while Dutch de Vries described the transfer of passenger data as an important tool in the war on terror.

António Vitorino, the justice and home affairs commissioner, is due to discuss this agreement, along with other controversial security measures taken in the wake of the 11 September 2001 terror attacks in the US, such as biometric passports, during a six-day visit to America next week. Vitorino is set to meet US Attorney General John Ashcroft and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Meanwhile, Michael Ryan, defence advisor at the US mission to the EU, has urged member states to improve cooperation in intelligence sharing.

Speaking on Monday at a round table organized by the New Defence Agenda, a Brussels think-tank, he said: "I realise this goes to the heart of national sovereignty but European nations need to show more political will to share what can be highly sensitive information.

"At present, this is a problem but I am optimistic - because of the pressing need to combat the terrorist threat - that sharing of intelligence will improve."

Reacting to the European Parliament's decision to refer the EU-US agreement on the transfer of air passenger data to the European Court of Justice, a top US official, Asa Hutchinson, said the US would not renegotiate the deal.