JT wrote:
> NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States and the European Union are near
> a deal on letting law enforcement and security agencies obtain private
> information like credit card transactions and travel histories about
> people on the other side of the Atlantic, The New York Times re****ted
> on Saturday.
> (Advertisement)
>
>
> The newspaper, which obtained an internal re****t on the potential
> agreement, said it would amount to a diplomatic breakthrough for U.S.
> counterterrorism officials after a history of cla****ng with the EU
> over demands for personal data.
>
> It was unclear when the agreement could be completed, the Times said,
> citing officials, but the Bush administration wants to resolve the
> issues before leaving office in January and is hoping for an agreement
> that would not require congressional approval.
>
> Negotiators, meeting since February 2007, have mostly worked out draft
> language for 12 major issues at the heart of a "binding international
> agreement," according to the re****t. Among other things, the pact
> would make clear that European governments and companies could
> lawfully exchange personal information with the United States.
>
> A major unresolved issue is whether residents of EU countries would be
> able to sue the U.S. government over its handling of their personal
> data, the Times said. U.S. law does not allow foreigners to sue the
> U.S. government for damages in such instances, the Times said.
>
> The talks resulted from conflicts between the United States and Europe
> over information-sharing after the September 11 attacks. The Bush
> administration had demanded access to passenger data held by airlines
> flying out of Europe and by a consortium, known as Swift, which tracks
> global bank transfers. Several EU countries objected, citing privacy
> laws.
>
> U.S. and EU officials hope to avoid future confrontations "by finding
> common ground on privacy and by agreeing not to impose conflicting
> obligations on private companies," the Times quoted Stewart Baker,
> assistant secretary for policy at the Homeland Security Department, as
> saying.
>
> "Globalization means that more and more companies are going to get
> caught between U.S. and European law," said Baker, who is involved in
> the talks.
>
> Some European officials expressed concern at the prospective
> agreement's ramifications.
>
> "I am very worried that once this will be adopted, it will serve as a
> pretext to freely share our personal data with anyone, so I want it to
> be very clear about exactly what it means and how it will work," said
> Sophia in't Veld, a Dutch member of the European Parliament and
> privacy rights advocate.
>
> Negotiators are trying to work out minimum privacy rights standards,
> such as limiting access to information to "authorized individuals with
> an identified purpose" for seeing it, the Times said.
>
>
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20080628/tpl-uk-security-usa-eu-81f3b62.html
>
> www.iamthewitness.com
____________
I assume that EU govts also get all the details of US citizens in
exchange?
--
Dirk
http://www.transcendence.me.uk/
- Transcendence UK
Remote Viewing cl***** in London
|
