EU criticises US lack of interest in data protection deal

(BRUSSELS) - The United States has shown little interest in negotiating with Europe a deal to protect the private data of European citizens during terrorism probes, the EU's justice chief said Monday.

European justice commissioner Viviane Reding lamented that Washington had yet to appoint a negotiator to reach a vast data protection deal to shield privacy rights dear to Europeans in future terrorism-fighting arrangements.

"From the outset we have noted an apparent lack of interest on the US side to talk seriously about data protection," Reding said in a statement. "The Americans are visibly standing on the brakes."

"Europe is ready to start negotiations on the data protection agreement," said Reding, who held talks with US Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano on December 9.

"I certainly can wait for a few days. But I expect to be given the telephone number of the US chief negotiator before the end of the year and seriously start the talks," she added.

Concerned about privacy rights, the European Parliament blocked in February a banking data sharing deal between the European Union and United States, leading to negotiations that ended in July with a new agreement.

To keep privacy concerns from poisoning negotiations on any other future data sharing deals, the EU wants to establish a data protection framework that would cover all future arrangements.

Despite the lack of movement on a general data protection deal, the allies have agreed to begin talks on sharing airline passenger information.

In September, the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, proposed conditions for swapping passenger name record (PNR) data with the Unitged States, Canada and Australia, insisting it should be restricted to terror and criminal probes.

A deal on passenger data is crucial for European airlines since the transfer of such information is a condition for flying to the United States, a country still marked by the September 11, 2001 plane suicide attacks in New York and Washington.