July 30, 2004
(IDG News Service)
BRUSSELS -- The European Parliament has filed a request with the highest court of the European Union to quash a deal to hand over sensitive airline passenger data to U.S. authorities.
The European Court of Justice said today that the legislative body had formally lodged requests to annul two decisions under which EU airlines would transfer a range of data on airline passengers to the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection.
If the court decides to back the European Parliament and declare the deal illegal, airlines could face legal challenges from individuals and organizations who oppose the U.S. receiving this data.
The assembly has also asked the court to give its verdict under a special fast-track procedure, which means the court could reach a judgment within three months.
The parliament agreed last spring to launch a legal challenge to a deal struck between the European Commission, the EU's member states and U.S. authorities to hand over airline passenger data, claiming that the agreement broke EUdata protection rules (see story). The U.S. insisted on receiving this information as part of measures to increase security in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
However, members of the parliament objected to the scope of information included in the data and demanded that sensitive items, such as a passengers' meal choices, should be removed.
The parliament's aim is to have the deal declared illegal and to force the U.S. to renegotiate the terms of the agreement. But the EC has warned that it has already obtained the best possible deal with the U.S. and that Washington won't make any further concessions.