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4/19/12

EU Parliament caves in to US pressure and gives green light with a divided vote to providing constitutionally protected EU Citizens personal data to US authorities

The EU parliament has caved in to US pressure and approved a controversial law to provide constitutionally protected EU Citizens personal data to the US.  Regardless of the diplomatically worded statement by the EU parliamentary Center Right majority, the agreement is generally seen as greatly jeopardizing the EU Citizens right to personal data protection.

The EU-US Passenger Name Record (PNR) agreement was adopted with 409 votes in favor, 226 against and 33 abstentions. A considerable number of MEPs voted against the deal due to concerns over data protection safeguards. A proposal to refer the agreement to the European Court of Justice was rejected by the Center Right majority.

Following the vote, rapporteur Sophie in het Veld from ALDE ( the Netherlands) , withdrew her name from the report and said, "The decision of the European Parliament does not reflect my recommendation. Therefore I choose to distance myself from it. I consider it disappointing that after 9 years negotiating with one of our close friends and allies, the US, we only got an agreement that gets reluctant support from a divided House", she explained.

The Justice and Home Affairs Ministers of the EU are expected to formally approve the agreement on 26 April. Since the deal affects the Citizens Privacy Rights of all EU member states, some member states might require they will need their national parliamentary approval.  The dealif eventually accepted by all member states is said to replace the 2007 text and will apply for 7 years.

The obvious question that arises also is, "can the EU can require the US to provide the similar data from US citizens visiting the EU ?"

EU-Digest

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