EU and U.S. to Sign Air Data Deal on Monday

The United States and the European Union will sign on Monday a deal giving U.S. law enforcement agencies easier access to air passenger data, ending a legal limbo for airlines, the EU presidency said.

The deal, clinched on October 6 after difficult negotiations, will provisionally enter into force from the moment it is signed, without waiting for formal ratification, a spokesman from the EU's Finnish presidency said.

EU aid and trade ministers, meeting on Monday in Luxembourg, gave the green light for the signature. "It's approved ... the signing will be today," the spokesman said.

The deal was negotiated after the EU's top court struck down a past agreement on a legal technicality in May, following a challenge by the European Parliament.

According to the deal, European airlines must pass on up to 34 items of data, including passenger addresses, telephone numbers and credit card details, to be allowed to land at U.S. airports.

The new pact will be signed by in Luxembourg by Finnish Foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja and in the United States by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, the EU Presidency spokesman said. It will apply only until July 2007.

The two sides will negotiate a long-term agreement in the meantime and Brussels is likely to face U.S. demands for more data and fewer restrictions.

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