The European Union and United States have made progress in talks on sharing air passenger data and are confident of reaching an agreement before a July deadline, possibly even this month, they said on Thursday.
German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said he was aiming to clinch a deal on the measure, designed to fight terrorism but criticised by civil liberties campaigners, before an EU-US summit at the end of this month in Washington.
"It isn't easy, but we have made good progress and are sure that we will manage it," Schaeuble told a news conference after a meeting of US and EU officials, including US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
The US says it needs the data to identify criminals or potential terrorists. If no deal is reached by the end of July, when a current temporary framework expires, the US could in theory stop planes landing, although in practice it would probably make agreements with individual states or airlines. The EU wants to avoid this outcome, saying it could weaken data privacy.
As EU president, Germany hosted Thursday's meeting. "We have good news for the heads of state and government they will not have to deal with this question at the (EU-US) summit because the people responsible for interior affairs will solve this problem in good time," added Schaeuble. The main sticking points in the complex negotiations are how long the US can store the data and which agencies can use it.
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