EU asks US to declassify air data rights report

MEPs and the European commission are asking Washington to declassify a report into EU-US air data transfers and privacy rights.

EU justice chief Franco Frattini is dismayed – say EU sources – that discussion of the controversial security measures must be held in secret.

The US has required confidentiality for Brussels evaluations that ‘passenger name record’ (PNR) handovers to US security agencies comply with data protection safeguards.

Four liberal MEPs on the European parliament’s civil rights committee have written demanding a rethink to
Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff.

The parliament’s lead MEP on PNR Sophie In't Veld and her colleagues Alexander Alvaro, Sarah Ludford and Jeannine Hennis-Plasschaert are asking for the US to go public to reassure citizens.
 
“The final European commission evaluation document is classified, at the request of the US,” they write.

“However, in view of the above, we feel that our citizens have a right to know if their personal data are safe with the US authorities, if the PNR scheme is effective from a security point of view and if both parties fully comply with the undertakings in the agreement.”

“We wholeheartedly endorse the request of the European commission for public access to the document.”

EU-US security cooperation over handover of computerised PNR to US security agencies has been controversial since March 2003.

Information – 34 fields of data – has been delivered straight from European central reservation systems to US law enforcement databases.

Details include the names of all travellers, all contact details, telephone numbers, addresses, emails, payment information, bank numbers and credit card data.

The parliament last June rejected Washington and Brussels assurances that the transfers would respect EU privacy law.

On November 22 the ECJ’s advocate general ruled against the EU handovers of air passenger data.

The four liberal MEPs argue that public access may help counter some privacy fears over the PNR transfers.

“By insisting on the confidentiality of this document, the impression is given that there is something to hide. It will create fears and suspicions amongst our people,” they write.

“By way of this open letter we urge you to make the evaluation available for public scrutiny, in the name of democracy, transparency and freedom.

“Such a gesture would go some way to
addressing the concerns that a majority of European parliamentarians have on this matter and improving relations between our respective institutions.”

• Previous article
• Next article