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MARK AUSTIN THOMAS: The topic is a touchy one. But today the U.S. and the European Union are expected to make an important announcement. It’s a deal concerning the sharing of airline passenger information between both governments. This is part of an effort to crack down on terrorism. Earlier this year an EU court annulled an existing agreement. Since then a temporary arrangement has been in place. Ashley Milne-Tyte has more.
ASHLEY MILNE-TYTE: EU laws on passenger privacy clash with those in the U.S. Ever since the EU court’s move, the two sides have been scrambling to come up with a data-sharing accord that keeps everyone happy.
Henry Farrell of George Washington University says part of the struggle is over U.S. plans to expand how the data is useda€¦
HENRY FARRELL: “And in particular they wanted to uh, see whether this information could be shared more widely with various intelligence agencies.”
On top of privacy concerns, business travel expert Joe Brancatelli says, European airlines worry about U.S. proposals to check all passenger information before takeoff.
JOE BRANCATELLI:“Airlines are saying if we’re gonna go through all that, you’re gonna board your flight 5 hours before departure and sit on the plane while the US government vets each passenger.”
He says the goal should be to find a balance between commerce and security.
In New York, I’m Ashley Milne-Tyte for Marketplace.