Parlement stuurt Commissie brief op poten inzake overdracht passagiersgegevens aan VS (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Parliament, sidelined in a row over the transfer of sensitive air passenger data to the US, could decide next week what action it will take.

The European Parliament could challenge the EU-US agreement at the European Court of Justice.

The Parliament was sidelined by the European Commission and EU member states last week when they finalised an agreement on the transfer of air passenger data to the US ignoring the parliament's recommendations.

The parliament had requested that the Commission wait until the European Court of Justice had given its opinion on whether this deal contravenes EU data protection rules.

However last week, the European Commission adopted a decision, which said that the transfer of passenger data to the US enjoys "adequate" protection, thereby enabling EU ministers to conclude the EU-US agreement on these data transfers.

Bad timing

A meeting of group leaders of the European Parliament, either by teleconference or physically present in Brussels, is expected to be held next Wednesday to discuss what steps to take over this issue.

It is "quite possible" that there will be a decision on Wednesday, European Parliament sources told EUobserver.

The Parliament's outgoing President Pat Cox has come under increasing pressure to take action after the Commission and the Council ignored the decision by MEPs.

The move by the Council and Commission came at a bad time for MEPs, as they are all currently back home campaigning for the upcoming June elections.

In a letter dated 17 May, the Socialist group leader Enrique Barón Crespo described the situation as "totally unacceptable" and urged Mr Cox "to take any measures [he deems] appropriate as soon as possible to protect the interest of the institution".

Pat Cox also received letters from the Liberal group leader Graham Watson and the Parliament's rapporteur on this matter, Johanna Boogerd-Quaak, and from Italian radical MEP Marco Cappato - rapporteur on privacy issues.

"We believe that such an attitude is a clear breach of the duty to loyal co-operation between the EU institutions", the joint letter by Mr Watson and Ms Boogerd-Quaak reads.

Mr Cappato on the other hand urged Pat Cox to act urgently and take this matter to the European Court of Justice.

The deal

Under the agreement reached last week, Washington is allowed to collect 34 types of data from passengers' records flying to the US, which include name, address, phone number, credit cards and the identity of their travelling companions.

Since March 2003, airlines have faced the possibility of fines of 6,000 euro per passenger as well as potential loss of landing rights in the US if they failed to provide US security agencies with the data 15 minutes before the flight's departure.

Carriers such as British Airways, Lufthansa and Air France had already started sharing data with the US before the decision.