By the end of that trip, we agreed that we'd made enough progress to be able to set the goal of completing an agreement by June 21 the date of the next U.S.-EU summit. To make that date, because of EU procedural requirements, we need to get all the language worked out by the end of April. Right now, we're developing specific language for an agreement, and so are they. I'm meeting tomorrow with EU officials to go over the language and begin framing the final agreement. Along the way we will continue our close consultations with industry and U.S. privacy advocates.
Much work remains, and there are a lot of difficult decisions to be made.
But overall, I'm optimistic. And any agreement that preserves individual rights to privacy without foreclosing the future of electronic commerce will certainly be worth the effort. I'm optimistic that, if we do reach agreement, it will serve as a template for similar compromises elsewhere. Because differences need not be divisions. The Atlantic has been bridged countless times to advance mutual interests.