EU eyes data deal with US

The EU is expected to sign an agreement with Washington in the coming months which could allow new transfers of personal data to the US authorities.

The deal, which has been discussed since January by a high-level contact group comprising senior officials from both sides of the Atlantic, will set down common principles on sharing information and data protection.

The US "hopes it allows the facilitation of future data transfers", said one American official. The official added that it was "difficult to say" what kind of data transfers these might be but by agreeing on general principles there would be less need for negotiations in future on data transfers.

The official said that there was "80-90% agreement on what the fundamentals [of the deal] are" and that both sides are getting closer to reaching a common accord.

"We want to finalise this before the end of the year," said an EU diplomat, who added that the high-level contact group would meet in early November and in December.

Jonathan Faull, director-general of the European Commission’s justice, freedom and security department, said that negotiations on the deal were progressing well. "We still have a lot of work to do but we’ve already made progress. The unsurprising conclusion is that we do have a lot in common," he said.

The EU has concluded a number of specific agreements with the US on the transfer of personal data. The first was the Safe Harbour deal in 2000 which allows companies operating in the US voluntarily to sign up to a set of principles safeguarding data from the EU. Negotiations have also taken place on the controversial transfer of airline passenger data, the latest agreement on this being signed last June, and on the transfer of personal banking information to the US authorities.

Franco Frattini, the commissioner for justice, freedom and security, announcing the setting up of the high-level contact group last year, said: "We need a broader perspective and a long-term vision to tackle, together with the US, the terrorist threat without putting at risk the fundamental rights of individuals."

But Dutch Liberal MEP, Sophia in ’t Veld criticised the lack of transparency about the deal.

The EU is expected to sign an agreement with Washington in the coming months which could allow new transfers of personal data to the US authorities.