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EU-US: USA demands agreement with the EU in December 2008 concerning the US ESTA (Electronic System of Travel Authorisation) system

01 September 2008

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EU Commissioner Barrot wrote to Michael Chertoff, Head of US Homeland Security on 8 September 2008: Full-text of letter to Chertoff (pdf).

This says that the EU wrote to the US on 4 August but that the reply of 29 August "fails to answer any of the specific questions we asked". The reply from Chertoff, on 15 September 2008: Full text of Chertoff reply (pdf) says that while they are "committed" to privacy:

"the data we gather under US law from those seeking to enter the United States is not subject to negotiation."

Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:

"This is typical of the EU-US relationship. The US lays down the law and expects the EU to comply and if it does not then - as on visas - the US simply negotiates behind its back with individual Member States. The idea that the High Level Contact Group report could provide privacy and data protection to EU citizens is simply nonsense as the ACLU has observed."

Letter from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to the European Parliament: Full-text of ACLU letter (pdf)
EU-US: Final Report by EU-US High Level Contact Group on information sharing and privacy and personal data protection (pdf)

Background: United States Plans New Travel Procedures for 27 Countries (US EU Mission, link) Known as ESTA (Electronic System of Travel Authorisation). An application to travel to the USA has to be made and authorisation given prior to boarding a plane or boat.

This will apply to the EU countries currently included in the Visa Waiver Programme, all of whom have signed MOUs with the USA.

The European Commission has yet to decide whether ESTA constitutes a breach of the visa waiver programme (see below). See also: US to screen foreign air passengers (euobserver, link)

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