Renew MEP Raquel García Hermida-Van Der Walle has raised concerns about the upcoming EU-US agreement on biometric data sharing for traveller screening, questioning how the Commission can ensure US data protection standards are upheld when a key oversight mechanism—the joint review of the 2017 EU-US Umbrella Agreement—remains unpublished six years after its legal deadline.
The written parliamentary question, submitted on 25 June 2026, targets the Commission as negotiations on a framework agreement for exchanging personal data, including biometrics, for traveller identity verification near conclusion. García Hermida notes that the Commission has called data protection a 'key priority' but argues that trust is undermined by the failure to review the Umbrella Agreement, which was supposed to be jointly assessed by 2020. She asks why no review report has been published and how EU citizens can trust US authorities with their biometric data given 'worrying developments' in US data protection.
The MEP also presses the Commission on whether the draft agreement will fully incorporate standards from relevant CJEU case law, and whether the Commission is convinced the deal would survive a legal challenge. The question implies that without robust oversight, the agreement risks violating EU data protection norms.
As a parliamentary question, the Commission is expected to reply within approximately six weeks. The answer will signal whether the Commission acknowledges the oversight gap and how it plans to address legal and trust deficits before finalising the biometric data-sharing deal.
EU travellers face potential privacy risks if US data protection is not rigorously verified; EU data protection authorities may see their oversight role sidelined; US law enforcement gains expanded access to biometric data; EU civil society groups advocating for privacy may use the question to mobilise opposition.