The Council gives the green light to EU–US negotiations for a border security partnership, with mutual data exchange.
The European Union begins negotiations with the United States for a framework security agreement at the border, which provides for mutual exchange of information for verifying the identity of travelers, with guarantees for data protection and without access to the large-scale IT systems of the EU.
The EU Council granted the Commission, on December 16, a negotiation mandate for a framework agreement with the United States regarding a "strengthened border security partnership," which is expected to allow for mutual exchange of information between member states and the US for verifying the identity of travelers and assessing security risks, according to explanations presented in the Commission's briefing on January 6.
In short
The negotiation mandate was approved by the Council on December 16, allowing the Commission to begin negotiations with the US.
The stated objective is to enhance security through mutual exchange of information for "screening" and verifying the identity of travelers.
The information exchange aims to determine whether entry or residence in the EU or the US would pose a risk to public security or public order.
The Commission states that the mandate includes "clear and robust" guarantees regarding data protection, the exchange is not systematic and is limited to what is strictly necessary.
The exchange takes place between the national systems of member states and the US, without involving the large-scale IT systems of the EU.
In the press briefing on January 6, the Commission confirmed that it can begin negotiations with the United States for a framework agreement regarding a "strengthened border security partnership," after the Council adopted the mandate before the winter break on December 16.
According to the explanations provided, the objective of the partnership is "to enhance security" through a mutual exchange of information used for "screening" and verifying the identity of travelers. The purpose of this exchange is to determine whether entry or residence in the European Union or in the United States could pose a risk to public security or public order and to contribute to enhancing the security of border controls and visa processing.
The Commission emphasized two architectural elements of the agreement, which also constitute the core of the journalistic angle: first, the system is described as "reciprocal," meaning that information is provided only under the conditions in which information is received in exchange; second, it is a framework agreement, which means that member states would subsequently be able to establish their own agreements with the US, within the limits of the framework negotiated by the EU.
Regarding data protection, the Commission specified that the mandate includes "clear and robust" guarantees, the exchange of information will not be systematic and will be limited to what is "strictly necessary" for the objectives of cooperation. Another element mentioned is that the exchange will take place between the national systems of member states and the US, without involving the large-scale IT systems of the European Union.
The topic was raised in the briefing in the context of the political tensions mentioned by a journalist, who asked whether it is prudent for sensitive data, including biometric data, to be shared in this framework. The Commission's response was that the mandate, precisely through these guarantees, aims to limit the exchange and condition it, both in terms of volume and necessity.
From the Commission's explanations, it results that the future agreement is designed as an operational cooperation instrument between member states and the US, with two explicitly mentioned political and legal control mechanisms: the reciprocal nature of the exchange and the limitation to what is strictly necessary, complemented by the idea that the EU agreement would function as a general framework, within which member states can negotiate their own arrangements. At this stage, the Commission has only confirmed the existence of the mandate and the general parameters of the negotiation, not a timeline or final contents of the agreement.
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