EU: European Court of Justice annuls EU-US deal on passenger data

On 30 May, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) annulled the European Union Council decision approving a 2004 US-EU agreement on the transfer of airline passenger data, requested by the US to prevent terrorist attacks. The Court held that there was no adequate legal basis for the Council to approve the deal, but did not decide whether it unduly interfered with privacy. On 19 June, the European Commission (EC) responded by recommending that the Council terminate the US-EU agreement and requested an authorization to open negotiations for a new agreement to be concluded on a different legal basis.