EU Unsure Which Travel Databases The US Wants to Access and Why

The United States has made a request to access police databases of the European Union Member States, and the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council finds this request unclear and confusing. A note sent to the Working Party on Justice and Home Affairs on January 10, revealed that the US has not provided clear details on the extent to which its plan for accessing EU databases is linked to the Visa Waiver Programme (VWP).

The lack of clarity on the US’s request has made it difficult for the Council to determine whether or not the Commission should ask for a mandate to negotiate on behalf of the Union. This has also raised the question of whether negotiating the Enhanced Border Security Partnership (EBSP) is a Union or Member States’ competence.

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The Council asserts that Member States need more clarity on the exact databases that the US wants access to, the way they want to access the data, and the purposes for which the data will be used. Additionally, there is no consensus between the Member States on how to proceed with the proposal.

Some Member States have started bilateral negotiations, while others are well advanced in their negotiations, and some are yet to engage in bilateral talks regarding the EBSP. The Council has invited countries that are well advanced in the negotiations to share the measures they have taken in order not to go against EU legislation when granting access to the US.

The US has threatened that refusing to grant its authorities access to the EU travel databases could result in the exclusion of Member States from the VWP programme from 2027. This has raised concerns and skepticism among some countries, including Norway, which has expressed doubt due to the current data protection rules in force in the country.

Before 2027, the US wants to be able to fully check police databases of the EU Member States for data on people who travel to the US visa-free with only an Electronic System Travel Authorization (ESTA). In exchange, the US has offered the EU and Schengen Area countries access to the US Department of Homeland Security’s databases, which contain 1.1 billion records of about 270 million people.

Many in Europe are concerned that granting the US such access is a violation of privacy rights, claiming that the US lacks adequate data and fundamental rights protection. The US is expected to hold a meeting with the EU Member States in early February to inform them in more detail about its plans and answer their questions.