Mr President, I wish to thank the two Commissioners for their statements and say to Commissioner Bolkestein that his acceptance of the reprimand that, as he himself says, we gave the Commission, does him credit. The fact remains, however, that the debate we are now holding should have taken place long before 5 March, the date of the entry into force of the measures adopted by the United States making airlines that schedule flights from the European Union to that country fulfil the obligations imposed by US legislation to transfer passengers’ personal data to the immigration services, as has been said, with these airlines facing stiff financial penalties if they fail to comply. Commissioner Patten, we share the concern of the United States following the events of 11 September, but we also wish to say that we have an obligation to demand compliance with European legislation, specifically Directive 95/46/EC, which protects the transfer and use of personal data – in this case, of around 11 million passengers who make transatlantic flights every year. Article 25(6) of this directive even lays down a specific procedure for the transfer of data to third countries and, on this occasion, Commissioners, we believe that this procedure has not been adhered to. We also have a duty, of course, to protect the interests of the airlines, which have to comply, on the one hand, with the obligations imposed by US legislation and, on the other, with the principles of Community legislation. In the current situation, the airlines are facing considerable uncertainty. I therefore wish, Commissioner, first of all to convey to you this Parliament’s unease at your belated – from my committee’s point of view – reaction to this issue, which also leads us to doubt the legality of the actions referred to in the joint statement issued by senior officials of the European Union and the United States Customs Service on 17 and 18 February. This statement, Mr President, Commissioners, even provides for – and I find this most surprising – an exception to be made to the application of our legislation in light of the United States’ wishes. I wonder how this is possible. On the other hand, the Union’s national data protection authorities now have their hands tied because, if passengers complain, they must apply the European directives in force and are obliged to impose penalties on the airlines. We will, therefore, have to find a quick way out of this situation of uncertainty, by defining a clear framework for action and by reconciling the legitimate demands of the United States with respect for European legislation. For this reason, the dialogue that has taken place to date within the administrations’ services must be conveyed urgently, given the transparency required, to the institutions’ political representatives and formulas must be quickly found for enabling the data that must be transferred, and the conditions in which they will be processed by the United States’ agencies, to be clearly defined. It is absolutely essential, at the same time, to inform the citizens that their data might be transferred and should this happen, to obtain their consent because, Commissioners, this is what Community legislation requires. The ideal situation would be for the US authorities to be able swiftly to define their data protection standards, the adoption of which is already provided for in US legislation, and for the Commission to be able then to state that the necessary data can be transferred under the conditions laid down by Community legislation. This is also a requirement laid down in Article 7 of our Charter of Fundamental Rights. I therefore call on the Commissioners responsible to make up for lost time and I rely – also on behalf of the committee which I have the honour to chair – on the Commission’s willingness to study with all due attention and urgency the texts that have been submitted to us on the basis of Directive 95/46/EC. We should also like to be informed, starting from today, of all meetings and of every stage in negotiations on this matter, not when the decision is about to be adopted, to ensure that we can cooperate and work together with the Commission, as we have been asked to do. (Applause)

Political group: PPE-DE