European Ministers Approve U.S. Passenger Data Deal

European foreign ministers have forced through a rubber-stamping of the controversial European Commission deal with the U.S. government regarding access to passenger data. The approval, given on Monday, overrides a request by the European Parliament to refer the deal to the European Court of Justice for an opinion on its legality.

The latest twist in the 14-month saga means U.S. Customs and Border Protection effectively can continue to access passenger name records of travelers arriving from the European Union. Parliament had objected on the grounds that the deal violates European privacy laws on several counts.

However, the newly ratified agreement does impose controls on the virtually unfettered access originally demanded by the United States. U.S. Customs personnel only will be able to access 34 out of a possible 60 fields of PNR data, such as name, contact details and credit card numbers. Fields with so-called "sensitive" data that reveal religion, race or health, such as dietary preferences, will not be provided. U.S. Customs only will use the information to deal with terrorism, terrorist-related crimes and certain types of transnational organized crime. Furthermore, data only will be stored for 3.5 years instead of 50 years as originally planned by U.S. officials, and Customs only will pass information on to other U.S. agencies on a case-by-case basis. A late attempt to prevent the United States from sharing data with third countries failed.

The European Commission argued that it had to agree to a deal to prevent the chaotic consequences of the United States fining and banning airlines that failed to hand over data.

Opponents of the deal in the European Parliament vowed to press ahead with forcing a judicial review--a process that could take months or even years. "This gives a veneer of legality to something we consider illegal," said Philip Todd, spokesperson for the Liberal Democrat MEP Graham Watson. "This is bound to end up in front of the European Court of Justice."