The EU and the US are edging closer to a deal ensuring data privacy as the two increasingly share sensitive information on their citizens such as credit card details and travel histories in the fight against terrorism. A senior EU official said on Tuesday, July 2 the European Union could strike a deal with the United States next year to protect personal data collected on their citizens to bolster the fight against terrorism but warned that important questions still needed to be resolved. "The work is not over yet, there's still more to be done, but we may look forward I think, if things continue to go well, to an international agreement probably some time next year," Jonathan Faull, director of the European Commission's justice and interior affairs department said at a news briefing in Brussels. Faull said he and US officials have been holding informal talks over the past 18 months to draft common standards on how data such as credit card details, e-mails or passenger travel records should be handled by authorities.
A senior EU official said on Tuesday, July 2 the European Union could strike a deal with the United States next year to protect personal data collected on their citizens to bolster the fight against terrorism but warned that important questions still needed to be resolved.
"The work is not over yet, there's still more to be done, but we may look forward I think, if things continue to go well, to an international agreement probably some time next year," Jonathan Faull, director of the European Commission's justice and interior affairs department said at a news briefing in Brussels.
Faull said he and US officials have been holding informal talks over the past 18 months to draft common standards on how data such as credit card details, e-mails or passenger travel records should be handled by authorities.
The European Commission sought Wednesday to ease fears that details about the medical conditions and sexual preferences of EU citizens could be abused by the American authorities under a trans-Atlantic system allowing law enforcement and security agencies to obtain private information. The European Union is under pressure from the United States to make it possible for the American authorities to obtain information about EU citizens - particularly about those who travel to the United States - as part of a fight against terrorism and international crime. At the same time, the EU is under pressure from its own citizens and lawmakers to adhere to stringent standards on access to information about how citizens surf the Internet, what they buy with their credit cards and places they have visited. Talks between officials in the United States and Europe on the issue have been under way for 18 months. The International Herald Tribune reported Saturday that an agreement was close to completion.
The European Commission sought Wednesday to ease fears that details about the medical conditions and sexual preferences of EU citizens could be abused by the American authorities under a trans-Atlantic system allowing law enforcement and security agencies to obtain private information.
The European Union is under pressure from the United States to make it possible for the American authorities to obtain information about EU citizens - particularly about those who travel to the United States - as part of a fight against terrorism and international crime.
At the same time, the EU is under pressure from its own citizens and lawmakers to adhere to stringent standards on access to information about how citizens surf the Internet, what they buy with their credit cards and places they have visited.
Talks between officials in the United States and Europe on the issue have been under way for 18 months. The International Herald Tribune reported Saturday that an agreement was close to completion.
