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| <office@sarahludfordmep.org.uk> | Sarah Ludford MEP | 3rd September 2010 |
MEPs refer EU-US air passenger data deal to Court7.01.01pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 21st Apr 2004
Baroness Sarah Ludford, London's Liberal Democrat MEP and European Liberal Democrat justice spokeswoman has welcomed the vote in the European Parliament to refer to the European Court of Justice the US-EU deal on the transfer by European airlines to US authorities of sensitive personal information on transatlantic air passengers. The US has now said it would feel free to transfer this data on to third countries. She said: "The US must realise that it cannot ride roughshod over our rights and the Commission must respect the views of the EU's directly elected Parliament. European data protection watchdogs have pointed out this deal would drive a coach and horses through EU data protection laws." "The agreement represents a bad deal for privacy of European citizens and is legally flawed. I regret that it has come to this, but since the Commission reneged on its pledge to subject the agreement to a binding vote in the European Parliament, going to Court was the only tool available to stop an abuse of executive power. "In the European Parliament we are in solidarity with the US in combating terrorism. But any cooperation agreement with the United States must be proportionate. The current deal may be merely a 'fishing expedition' and not really reduce the threat of terrorism. After all, we now know US intelligence services failed to use information they had before 9/11." Note Members of the European Parliament voted by 276 to 260 (with 13 abstentions) to refer to the European Court of Justice a draft agreement between the Commission and the United States on air passenger data transfers to the US. Under the agreement access to personal airline passenger data does not stop at names, addresses and contact telephone numbers. It will include data on travelling companions and hosts, the travel agency with which reservations were made, passengers' credit card details as well as dietary preferences. Related Link:Search this site for more on this issue.
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Related News Story:Thu 8th Jul 2010: Revised bank data deal illustrates Liberal MEPs' influence. Thu 12th Oct 2006: Agreement on transfer of passenger data 'a sell-out' . Wed 14th Dec 2005: Data retention deal will erode citizens' trust. Tue 13th Dec 2005: Data retention deal 'a vast con-trick'. Thu 24th Nov 2005: MEPs tighten up proposed EU data retention law. Tue 22nd Nov 2005: European Court adviser backs MEPs over passenger data. Tue 27th Sep 2005: MEPs reject Charles Clarke version of EU data storage law. Fri 25th Jun 2004: European Parliament asks ECJ to reject EU-US passenger data deal. Tue 18th May 2004: Ludford MEP: EU-US deal on passenger data is wrong. Wed 5th May 2004: European Council must respect rule of law in passenger data case. Tue 4th May 2004: European Parliament rejects governments' attempts on passenger data. Tue 30th Mar 2004: Passenger Data: Time for EU to say no to US. Tue 13th Jan 2004: Liberals Demand Court Ruling and Agreement on Air Passenger Data Transfers. Wed 4th Jun 2003: Reform of MEPs' pay deal "sabotaged". Wed 12th Mar 2003: European Parliament will vote to halt supply of Airline passenger data to U.S. Related Speech:Thu 7th Sep 2006: Use of passenger personal data - Agreement with the USA on the use of Passenger Name Record data . Published and promoted by Ashley Lumsden on behalf of Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP and the Liberal Democrats, all at 4 Cowley Street, London SW1P 3NB. The views expressed are those of the party, not of the service provider. |
