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ACTE forum spotlights U.S.-E.U. data debate.

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Dublin -- The United States and the European Commission are making progress toward a permanent deal by year-end on U.S. access to European passenger data, claimed a U.S. State Department official in a session on data privacy at the Association of Corporate Travel Executives global conference here this month.

"Despite what you see in the press, there is definitely a convergence of views," said John Fennerty, head of the political economic section of the U.S. Embassy in Dublin. "We want to get this sorted by the end of the year. It may spill over into next year, but not for very long."

Officials are trying to break the impasse over U.S. Customs and Border Protection accessing all passenger name records of European citizens flying to, through and from the United States. U.S. Customs began taking feeds from airlines in February, after receiving temporary clearance from the European Commission in spite of this procedure breaking several European laws on data privacy. Clearance is likely to run out by year-end. Both sides hurriedly m-e seeking a compromise that will satisfy both the United States in its wish to track terrorists and European standards of confidentiality.

Pressure is growing within Europe for the European Commission to stand firm in safeguarding privacy. The European Parliament on Oct. 9 passed a resolution telling the E.C. that it must halt the transfer of PNRs by airlines unless the United States agrees to a range of concessions regarding its handling of the data. "It's frankly predictable," Fennerty said of the resolution. "I wouldn't get too excited."

One key point of contention is how long U.S. Customs will store PNRs. Fennerty said the Commission and the United States have narrowed their original negotiating positions of three days and 50 years, respectively, to three years and seven years. The United States also has agreed not to access what Europeans call "sensitive" data, such as dietary preferences and medical information. "It's largely irrelevant for screening purposes," Fennerty said.

However, differences remain on the grounds for which the data can be used to apprehend suspects. Europe wants it to be used only on suspicion of direct acts of terrorism. The...

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