MEPs to ask US Congress for data-transfer details

MEPs are hoping that a meeting with members of the US Congress in Washington, DC, next week (17 April) will reveal details of how negotiations are progressing on the transfer of European citizens’ data for counter-terrorism purposes.

Eight MEPs from the civil liberties committee hope to meet members of the House of Representatives committee on homeland security and the Senate committee on the judiciary. Difficulty in setting up meetings with members of Congress meant that with less than a week to go the agenda had yet to be finalised.

At a committee meeting this week (10 April), MEPs raised concerns over the lack of information given to them by the European Commission and the Council of Ministers on developments with the US on counter-terrorism, in particular involving the transfer of data.

"I hope the trip will be useful in helping get some overview. We might get information on what is happening on the EU-US dialogue. Our [US] counterparts might be better informed," Sarah Ludford, a UK Liberal MEP, told the committee.

"Having been in the loop [about discussions] we are now marginalised and there is a drip-feed of information. The source of information is drying up and while [Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security, Franco] Frattini has said ‘of course we’ll involved Parliament’ months later things seem to be drying up," said Alexander Alvaro, a German Liberal MEP.

"There is a high-level group from the EU and US which is discussing arrangements on data protection…they should come to the European Parliament and explain exactly what they are discussing," said Sophie in ’t Veld, a Dutch Liberal MEP.

Discussions will focus on a deal being negotiated between the US and EU on the transfer of airline passenger data, a deal soon to be negotiated on the transfer of personal banking information, the visa-waiver programme which allows visitors from certain countries to enter the US without visas, the Automated Targeting System which rates the level of threat posed by people entering the US and CIA extraordinary renditions.

The delegation hopes to find out the position of members of Congress on issues affecting European citizens’ rights and in particular data protec-tion. The now Democrat-controlled Congress is expected to be more sympathetic to the Parlia-ment’s stance on privacy issues and on the Bush administration’s tactics on the war on terror.

But Manfred Weber, a German centre-right MEP, said that EU citizens also wanted to know how they were being protected against terrorism. "It is important to fight for the protection of data but we need to look at the Americans’ reason for their stance on this topic," he said.

MEPs are hoping that a meeting with members of the US Congress in Washington, DC, next week (17 April) will reveal details of how negotiations are progressing on the transfer of European citizens’ data for counter-terrorism purposes.