Europe doesn't trust us?

I thought they were our bestest buds..... :

The post-Sept. 11 flight data sharing agreement between the US and EU expires in July. But a new agreement is nowhere in sight. The Americans want to know even more, and the Europeans want to tell them even less.

[snip]

The idea for an agreement on air passenger data-sharing goes back to the period of hysteria that followed the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. At the time, the United States demanded that foreign airlines transfer entire packets of data on travellers to the US, so potential terrorists could be tracked. Currently, airlines transfer 34 pieces of data, including postal addresses, email addresses and credit card numbers, as well as food preferences and a list of unboarded flights -- the "no-shows." This agreement expires in July.

[snip]

Even the existing agreement is seen with some skepticism in the European Parliament. And the myriad concerns and questions raised during the brief question and answer session following Chertoff's talk showed just how deep that skepticism runs. Most striking, however, was that the session repeatedly turned into an obscure, would-be trial about the US's many lapses over the past years: From Abu Ghraib and illegal kidnappings by the CIA to gun laws, every gripe was fair game. Chertoff ignored just as many questions as he answered.

And the sensitive issue of passenger data went unsolved.

[snip]

While the EU position is largely informed by privacy concerns, the US negotiators are backed by a number of compelling arguments. The foiled terror attack last summer, in which terrorists planned to explode up to 10 trans-Atlantic flights originating in Britain, is seen by the US as only the most recent example of the dangers air traffic still poses. They repeatedly stress the perils represented by thousands of Pakistanis who, equipped with British EU passports, can travel freely wherever they like -- including to a Jihadist training camp in Pakistan and, afterwards, to the US. American authorities say that visa regulations and the sharing of passenger data could close this security loophole.

[snip]

After the experiences of 9/11, US investigators are especially interested in more information on "no show" flights. In 2001, the 9/11 hijackers reserved flights for several days in a row, but then didn't show up as they were waiting for the appropriate weather. The US authorities also insist on the need for earlier data transfer, since the data have to be introduced into the so-called "Automatic Targeting System" in Washington, which contains suspicious data combinations and a list with the names of known terror suspects. That kind of data analysis makes earlier transfer absolutely essential, US authorities say.

Additional measures are already being debated openly in the US. For example, a plan for a simplified online questionnaire for flight passengers from the EU and other countries is currently before Congress. The plan would require passengers to submit a completed questionnaire detailing previous travel destinations along with other pieces of information to the Department of Homeland Security via the Internet two days before the flight. The advantage of this model is that passengers could be told before the departure of their flight that they won't get a visa, Chertoff said in Brussels.

Still, Chertoff's day in the European Parliament wasn't enough to win over the skeptics. Center-left parliamentarian Wolfgang Kreissl-Dörfler called Chertoff's performance "high cinema that raised more questions than it answered." The politician's main criticism was that the US is basically blackmailing Europe. In his view, Washington is forcing a simple alternative on the EU states: "My way or the highway." That is not, he says, the way to a solution, even if the deadline looms.

Boy, we get one massively incompetent administration in power and nobody trusts us. Sheesh! It's not like we'd misuse the private information or anything.... honest....