Posted on 05/30/2006 1:46:52 PM PDT by neverdem
PARIS, May 30 — The European Union's highest court ruled today that an agreement providing for the transfer of extensive personal data on air passengers to the authorities in the United States was illegal. The decision forces the two sides back to the negotiating table at a time when privacy safeguards are increasingly being debated.
The European Court of Justice, in Luxembourg, overruled a May 2004 decision by the European Commission and the European Council, which represents national governments. The agreement, which took 18 months to negotiate and was set to last through the end of next year, gives American counterterrorism authorities access to 34 different types of information about passengers on all flights that originate from the 25 member states.
The court upheld a challenge to the agreement brought by the European Parliament, which was not consulted when the accord was reached amid intense pressure from the Bush administration following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. However, it sidestepped the thorny question of whether the transfers of passenger records — including names, passport details, credit card numbers, addresses and phone numbers — violated the civil rights of European citizens.
Parliamentary opponents of the agreement nonetheless said they were pleased with the ruling.
"The European Court is saying yes, the European Parliament was right, that the data transfer agreement is illegal," said Graham Watson, a British member of the European Union Parliament and chairman of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. "What will now be needed is some pretty tough talking to get a new agreement in which our concerns about privacy are properly addressed."
The court gave the European Commission a four-month grace period, until Sept. 30, to negotiate a new treaty with the United States, during which time passenger records would continue to be provided according to...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
no more flights into the US then, send them all to canada.
Works for me.
Nothing to negotiate. Bar any European flight from flying to, or over, the United States of America.
Huh Huh... However this would require the administration getting a pair of balls , or at least finding where they put 'em
U.S. Customs should turn into a three step process for people arriving from Europe without U.S. passports.
Step 1: Provide a customs agent with your travel documents.
Step 2: Wait in a holding area while full data verification is performed.
Step 3: Continue to luggage and arrival areas once the data is verified.
The holding area is necessary so that one person at the customs window does not hold up those whose verification can be done rapidly.
Cool!!! This makes it simple, then - their planes don't get clearance to land anywhere in US territory.
See? There is an easy AND effective way to deal with this.
So .. what happens when the flight INTO EUROPE has a suicide bomber on-board .. and because WE WERE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE THE INFORMATION .. we allow this person to make the flight ..??
Hmmmm?? I don't think they've thought this out very well.
Yeah...
I'll never understand the Europeans - they'll ban this, but enact laws that require people to register with the police each time they move (as in Germany) and they demand your passport for registration each time you stay in a hotel.
The same is true in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Luxembourg; I've worked as an expatriate in these countries. Heck, they even ask what your relegion is on the work visa applications.
If the EU was attempting to obtain names, passport details, credit card numbers, addresses and phone numbers of American citizens, the same freepers bashing Europe for refusing to provide the data to us, would be bashing us for providing the data to them.
"If the EU was attempting to obtain names, passport details, credit card numbers, addresses and phone numbers of American citizens"
I am pretty sure we already do provide this information in a number of ways. As other posters have already said the EU requires a passport (aka your papers please) for many routine activities not involved with flying. The EU is only objecting because we are America.
No they won't. Remember that the defendants in this case were European governments who had introduced the present arrangements, by agreement with the U.S., in the first place. There's not the slightest chance those governments are going to allow the arrangement to lapse - it's simply completely contrary to their national interests to do so (and arguably contrary to U.S. national interests also). The European governments will simply tweak the rules in some minor way which satisfies the court but doesn't undermine the deal. And if the court still doesn't like it, it has no powers of enforcement over the member states' governments anyway.
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