MEPs have voted against plans to shares personal details of transatlantic airline passengers with United States authorities.
The Guardian reports that MEP voted 276 to 260 to ask member states to reject a ruling that is currently awaiting a ruling from the European court of justice, and that the decision will send “a strong signal of public and political disapproval” – even if the agreement will go ahead anyway.
As reported, US authorities are demanding that EU airlines providing services across the Atlantic give details including passenger’s addresses, phone numbers, credit card details, and the amount of luggage they check in. Airlines that refuse could be fined as much as USD6,000 per passenger and lose their landing rights.
The United States is reportedly claiming that the collection of such data is an “essential counter-terrorism measure”.
The newspaper quotes Chris Patten, the EU’s external relationships commissioner, who urged members to back the deal, as saying: “If we had been through what New York went through in 2001 we would want our governments to do everything they could to secure us.”
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad
