U.S.-EU private data sharing agreement near

The United States and European Union are close to an agreement to share private data of their citizens, including credit card information, travel history, and internet browsing information, the New York Times said Saturday. Negotiations that begun in February 2007, however, have to yet address whether Europeans can sue the U.S. government for mishandling information, according to an internal report on the potential agreement obtained by the newspaper. The negotiations are being conducted by the U.S. DHS, the Justice and State departments, and their European counterparts, the daily said. A DHS spokesperson did not have an immediate response on the report.

One of the unresolved issues is the EU’s privacy rights claims that would allow its citizens to sue the U.S. government for any mishandling of their information, under the U.S. Privacy Act of 1974. The administration of President George Bush opposes such a move, the Times reported, because the Privacy Act gives U.S. nationals — but not foreigners — the right to sue so the Act would have to be sent back to the Democratic-controlled Congress to be amended. Officials consulted by the Times said Bush would like to sign the agreement before he leaves office in January and while EU members nations can still approve it individually, before they hand ratification power over to the European Parliament.