The European Commission has approved an agreement to pass information about transatlantic air passengers, including credit card details and telephone numbers, to the US authorities, write Denis Staunton in Brussels and Liam Reid
The decision, which has the support of EU member-states, including Ireland, comes in the face of opposition from the European Parliament, which has asked the European Court of Justice to determine if it is in breach of EU privacy laws.
Under the deal, airlines will provide US authorities with 34 items of information about each passenger, although the US has promised to use such information solely to combat terrorism and international organised crime. Sensitive data, such as meal orders or special passenger requirements, that could reveal race, religion or personal health, will "either not be transferred or, if transferred, will be filtered and deleted" by US border authorities.
The Internal Market Commissioner, Mr Frits Bolkestein, who led the EU's negotiations, claimed yesterday that the agreement offered the best possible protection of passengers' privacy.
"A negotiated solution is never perfect, especially when you are up against a law adopted by the US Congress in the understandable conviction that it is vital to protect the US against terrorism ... we came up with a balanced solution, which the member-states have supported."
Mr Bolkestein pointed out that the US has already introduced legislation requiring all carriers to provide passenger data but postponed its implementation for European airlines pending an agreement.
"The alternative would not have been any further concessions from the US but would rather have been legal uncertainty and the potential withdrawal of US commitments to protect the data transferred - in other words, chaos for EU passengers and airlines," he said.
Aer Lingus has been passing on information on its transatlantic passengers since earlier this year and a notice advising passengers is on the company's website, aerlingus.com. The airline said yesterday that although formal agreement between the US and EU had yet to be put in place, it had been complying since last December with what is a US legal requirement.
A spokesman for the Irish data protection commissioner, Mr Joe Meade, said previous concerns of his office had been addressed in the EU-US agreement.
However, Green MEP Ms Patricia McKenna said the agreement failed to provide adequate safeguards to ensure that the US border authorities would not pass passenger data on to other agencies or to foreign governments.
She said the European Parliament had voted against the issue three times. Governments that, she said, "preach about the democratisation of Europe" should not ignore a decision by the only democratically elected body in the EU.