Leaked data deal fuels concerns as Europeans risk US entry bans for critics of Trump
· EUobserverDonald Trump and Melania flanked by the Easter Bunny. Trump has already imposed entry bans on several high‑profile Europeans, including former EU commissioner Thierry Breton (Source: White House )
Leaked data deal fuels concerns as Europeans risk US entry bans for critics of Trump
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By Nikolaj Nielsen,
Brussels
,
A rights group is warning that EU citizens who publicly criticise Donald Trump could be denied entry or even face arrest in the United States under a proposed transatlantic security data-sharing agreement currently under discussion with the European Commission.
London-based advocacy group Statewatch, which leaked a draft of the proposal last week, says the commission’s proposal is way too broad and will allow the US to use the data for contentious reasons.
“This includes preventing or arresting people travelling to the USA who have voiced opposition to US policies in Europe, or for automated discriminatory profiling of travellers, including EU citizens,” says Statewatch.
The negotiations, led by the commission, were launched last year following US threats to revoke visa-free travel for EU citizens unless Washington is granted access to biometric data held by European authorities by an end-of-year 2026 deadline.
The talks span biometric data sharing on border and immigration control, triggering warnings from the EU’s data protection supervisor who said any such agreement would mark “an important precedent”.
It would also be the first ever of its kind, implying a large-scale sharing of
personal data, including biometric data, for the purpose of border and immigration control by another country, said the data protection chief.
The European Commission refused to comment on the leaked Statewatch document but instead says that its focus remains on providing safeguards, based on a mandate from the Council, representing member states.
An EU source says individual member states will also seek to have similar agreements with Washington, once the EU deal is sorted sometime this year.
The source said the commission will not sign anything that member states do not like, noting that concepts like proportionality must be taken into account.
But with Trump already having imposed entry bans on several high‑profile Europeans, including former EU commissioner Thierry Breton, Statewatch’s warnings now appear increasingly credible.
Europeans aside, some 11 judges and prosecutors at the International Criminal Court have also been sanctioned by the US government.
Among them is a Slovenian citizen, Beti Hohler, who no longer has access to US services in Europe, including Apple ID, iCloud, Amazon, Airbnb, PayPal, and other accounts.
Article 6 of the leaked document says the agreement is meant to identify, screen and vet anyone suspected of posing a risk to public security or public order.
Statewatch says this is an openly broad concept that would allow Trump’s America to target anyone, including people protesting US policies in Gaza or Iran.
Article 7.2 appears to also fall short of protecting the fundamental rights of Europeans.
It says authorities cannot discriminate on the grounds of sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.
But crucially, it also leaves out discrimination on the grounds of political beliefs or any other opinion.
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Author Bio
Nikolaj Nielsen joined EUobserver in 2012 and covers home affairs. He is originally from Denmark, but spent much of his life in France and in Belgium. He was awarded the King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.