U.S., European Union Making Progress on Passenger Data Deal

U.S. and German security officials said Thursday they have made progress towards a new agreement allowing airlines to share data on passengers heading for the United States - without violating European privacy laws.

"We've made good progress," said Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, after discussions with U.S. Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff.

The European Union and the United States must work out a long-term agreement to replace an interim deal which expires at the end of July. An earlier agreement was struck down by a European court.

Chertoff said he was "looking forward to the opportunity to work on getting this matter resolved in the next few months."

He said that authorities in the past might not have always explained the value of the information in specific terms, and provided two examples of how the information could help.

In one case, a person trying to enter the United States in September 2006 was found to have a "martyrdom video" suggesting preparation for a suicide attack and information on how to build improved explosive devices.

In another example, Chertoff said passenger data could have stopped most of the Sept. 11 hijackers from entering the U.S., because they were using the same information - addresses, phone numbers or frequent flier numbers - as people already on watch lists.

"We could have built a chain of links that would have enabled us to identify most of the hijackers before they came in," he said.

The two sides also discussed including more of the European Union's 27 members in the U.S. visa waiver program that permits people to enter the U.S. without having to apply for a visa. Citizens of new EU members such as Poland and the Czech Republic still need visas. Legislation addressing the issue is still making its way through the U.S. Congress, Chertoff said.

"If we have visa freedom between the United States and the EU, then please understand that all 27 members should be treated equally," Schaeuble said.

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