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EU, US reach deal on sharing air passenger data
by ASSOCIATED PRESS
Friday October 06, 2006 at 01:06 PM
European Union and US negotiators reached a deal on the sharing of trans-Atlantic air passenger data used in anti-terror investigations, diplomats said Friday.
Details of the exact deal were not yet clear after marathon talks which started late Thursday.
A 2004 trans-Atlantic air passenger privacy deal - which the EU high court voided last May for technical reasons - lapsed after negotiators missed an Oct. 1 deadline.
Negotiations collapsed last week when EU negotiators - seeking a simple replacement accord - could not agree to US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff's request for a more routine sharing of passenger data among US law enforcement agencies.
Reaching a new deal had been an EU priority to ensure airlines can continue to legally submit 34 pieces of data about passengers flying from Europe to US destinations. Such data - including passengers' names, addresses and credit card details - must be transferred to US authorities within 15 minutes of a flight's departure for the United States.
Washington had warned that airlines failing to share passenger data faced fines of up to US$6,000 (€4,700) per passenger and the loss of landing rights.
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