Following 11 September, the US Congress had imposed on American airlines the obligation to report the personal identity details of all passengers on arrival. But this regulation, to be interpreted in anti-terrorism terms, had given rise to strong reservations on the European side of the Atlantic. After a long standoff, the Commission has now adopted a formal decision that “will shortly implement the new commitments signed up to by the government of the USA, that guarantee in America the protection of the personal data of passengers on transatlantic flights”. In substance the executive in Brussels considers that the data on passengers that will be transmitted to the US authorities will enjoy “adequate protection in compliance with the directive of the European Union on data protection”. The personal data supplied to the US Department for homeland security will be kept for a brief period only and used for the sole purpose of preventing terrorist attacks. The decision on “transparency in the skies” had been strongly opposed by the Parliament in Strasbourg. Frits Bolkestein, Commissioner for the internal market, explains: “A negotiated solution is never perfect, especially when we are faced by a law adopted by the US Congress in the conviction, understandable enough, that the protection of the USA against terrorism is of vital importance. Even though the EP takes a different view, the Commission believes that the solution negotiated will improve the situation of citizens and air companies in the European Union, since it will put into place important guarantees by the USA on respect for the rights to data protection”.
