US, Europe reach deal on air passenger data

LUXEMBOURG, Oct 6 (Reuters) The United States and Europe today clinched a deal giving US law enforcement agencies easier access to personal data on transatlantic air passengers to fight terrorism, ending a legal limbo for airlines.

The European Union's top court struck down an existing agreement after a challenge by the European Parliament out of concern to protect privacy. The invalidated accord expired last Saturday, creating a legal vacuum which airlines feared could expose them to breach of privacy suits.

''This new agreement will provide a possibility of giving passenger data to the US authorities while guaranteeing sufficient data protection according to the commitment of the American customs and border control authorities,'' Finnish Justice Minister Leena Luhtanen told a news conference.

European airlines must pass on 34 items of data, including passenger addresses, telephone numbers and credit card details, to be allowed to land at US airports. The measures were introduced after the September 11 attacks on the United States.

The new pact, which EU governments should formally approve next week, will apply only until July 2007.

The two sides will negotiate a long-term agreement in the meantime, and Brussels is bound to face US demands for more data and fewer restrictions on sharing it.

''NO DIRECT ACCESS'' EU Justice and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini said the new deal, clinched in nine hours of overnight negotiations, would make it easier for US law enforcement agencies to obtain the information without giving them automatic electronic access.

Instead of accessing data directly from airlines, US authorities would have to request it, a system that would be piloted before the end of the year.

''It's not direct access and not a power to pull in data,'' he said, adding that the US Department of Homeland Security would ''facilitate'' disclosure to other agencies combatting terrorism.

''We are not talking about more data or more exchanges, we are talking about making it easier transmitting data to agencies.'' EU chief negotiator Jonathan Faull said the amount of data would not change and the EU had received US undertakings about how it would be used, by whom and how long it would be kept.

''We can be sure that all the American agencies provide an acceptable, satisfactory system of data protection,'' he said.

''Not exactly the same as ours...but of equivalent value.'' Mr Faull said the data would principally be used by the US Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. He did not exclude its use by the Central Intelligence Agency, but added: ''The CIA is not a significant authority in this respect any more.'' In mounting its challenge to the old accord the European Parliament paradoxically opened the way for easier FBI access to travellers' personal records.

''We created this mess,'' said Mr Faull. ''We had a perfectly good agreement which the parliament challenged and the court annulled on technical grounds, so everything was reopened.'' EU ambassadors today gave the green light to initial the new interim agreement pending formal approval by ministers next week after member states have studied the text in detail.

EU negotiators were wary about appearing to yield too much to US demands given widespread European public misgivings over elements of President George W Bush's ''war on terrorism''.

REUTERS SHB ND1744