EU mulls giving US access to citizens’ data to maintain visa-free travel

The US has threatened to withdraw visa-free travel for EU citizens, unless the European Union agrees to grant access to European police databases. The commission is currently considering the terms of the agreement.

EU negotiates Enhanced Border Security Partnership

President Donald Trump recently introduced the Enhanced Border Security Partnership (EBSP), which contains a new requirement for countries participating in the US visa waiver programme, commonly known as ESTA. The European Commission and the US are negotiating the terms of the EBSP.

As it stands, the ESTA programme allows citizens of 41 countries, including the Netherlands, to travel to the US for 90 days without a visa. Now, the US government has announced that all countries “participating in or aspiring to join” the visa waiver programme must meet new requirements.

One of these requirements is that participating countries give the US government access to police databases and must agree to do so by December 31, 2026. The deadline has put immense pressure on the commission and member states, who want to maintain visa-free access to the US for EU citizens.

Dutch MEP Raquel García Hermida-van der Walle (D66), who is part of a group of lawmakers pushing the commission to halt the negotiation process, has called the Trump administration’s demands “a clear case of blackmail”.

What information would the EU give the US?

Up until now, when an EU citizen submits an ESTA application, the US Department of Homeland Security screens their data against US law enforcement and security databases. Social media profiles may also be screened if applicants voluntarily submit them. 

If the EU Commission agrees to the EBSP, US authorities would also be able to screen ESTA applicants' data against EU police databases. These databases vary slightly across EU countries, but they contain sensitive biometric data, such as fingerprints and images.

According to the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), an organisation which advises the commission on data protection policies, the EBSP would be the first agreement of its kind to permit the “large-scale sharing of personal data [...] for the purpose of border and immigration control” with a non-EU country.

EU police databases also contain information about people suspected of a crime but never convicted. Data protection organisations are concerned that handing over this sensitive information could lead to EU citizens being refused entrance at the whim of US authorities.

For example, US authorities could bar someone who had been arrested in Europe but not convicted of a crime from boarding a US-bound flight or entering the US. There are also concerns that accepting the EBSP terms would normalise granting border authorities routine access to data held by the police.

"We are very concerned about the implications for the security of European citizens," Hermida-van der Walle added. The MEP stressed that the new requirements could easily result in peaceful protesters being denied entry to the US and suggested the EU step back from negotiations until the US “takes proper responsibility for basic fundamental rights”.