On Tuesday, 9th March, the same say they were passing the intellectual property enforcement directive, the EU parliament

"...adopted a Resolution saying that the 1995 Data Protection Directive was not working because of lack of resources, powers of enforcement, and lack of political will by national governments and the European Commission. The Resolution condemned the handing over of passenger data on people flying to the USA because it is contrary to EU law and the 1995 Directive.

The Resolution was passed by 439 votes in favour, 39 against and 28 abstentions"

Tony Bunyan, Statewatch editor, comments:

"The European Parliament has decided, overwhelmingly, that data protection in the EU is not working. It has also decided that the transfer of personal data (PNR) on airline passengers to the USA - which has no data protection laws for non-US citizens - would "flagrantly breach" EU law.

At the end of this month the European Parliament will be asked to vote again on the question of whether or not the USA offers "adequate" protection of data for EU citizens flying there. National government will put a lot of pressure on MEPs to "toe the line" and accept the "deal" already agreed by the 15 EU governments.

All the evidence shows that people cannot rely on governments to protect their right to privacy, nor on the European Commission, for the future of democracy in Europe. Let us hope they can rely on the European Parliament"