E.U. Court To Consider E.U.-U.S. Data Accord

The European Parliament voted this morning to refer to the European Court of Justice the controversial agreement by the European Commission to give U.S. security authorities access to the passenger data of European citizens. The resolution was carried by a vote of 276-260, with 13 abstentions.

Parliamentary supporters of the referral believe the accessing of passenger name records breaches European data protection laws on numerous counts. The so-called "light touch" agreement hammered out between the Commission and the United States last December built in more safeguards than the process introduced by the United States in February 2003, but parliamentarians argued the agreement failed to go far enough. They claimed the Commission wrongly judged U.S. undertakings as adequate and called for a properly negotiated international agreement to be introduced instead.

The referral does not suspend the agreement, which means U.S. authorities can continue to access the PNRs of European travelers until the European Court of Justice issues its opinion. A spokesperson for Graham Watson, one of the members of the European Parliament who vehemently has opposed the agreement, said a ruling from the court could take up to two years. However, he added, "We can request an urgent ruling. We are in no doubt this agreement is not legal."

If the court rules that the agreement is illegal, it could prove chaotic for the travel industry, with airlines facing heavy fines from the European Union if they do surrender PNR data to the United States, but prohibition from U.S. air space if they do not.

Tom Stone, chairman of the Institute of Travel Management for the U.K. & Ireland, welcomed the referral. "Any European travel purchaser will welcome it," he said. "It will provide some transparency in a decision-making process rather than a feeling that this has been foisted upon us without consultation or an explanation of the rationale."