When Washington demands access to sensitive data, concerns are growing in Europe about the real motives of the Americans. The European Union is closely watching the controversial raids by the ICE migration services and the US Border Guard and has further doubts.
Commission officials traveled to Washington last week for the first round of negotiations, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to POLITICO journalists. The European Commission (EC) is negotiating an agreement on the exchange of traveler information, incl fingerprints and data from law enforcement recordsso that the United States can determine whether they pose a “threat to public security or public order.”
Romain Lanneau, a researcher who analyzes law at the British organization Statewatch, specializing in monitoring civil liberties, warns against giving data into the hands of Americans. In his opinion European police databases can contain information on all persons: from protesters to journalists. Anyone can be considered a “threat” by the US.
Under the agreement in question, this information will be available to U.S. border authorities who may deny these people entry into the United States – or even detain them. And this is only the beginning of doubts.
The European Union is continuing talks to give U.S. border officials unprecedented access to Europeans' data, despite growing concerns about U.S. surveillance.
The Trump administration's request for greater access to data comes after U.S. border officials in December demanded the ability to view social media history from the past five years. The talks come at a time when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is under intense scrutiny for its use of surveillance technology and violence against protesters in cities such as Minneapolis.
Protests in Minneapolis, January 31, 2026.Jen Golbeck/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images, Contributor / Getty Images
Negotiations should be “paused” until the security and privacy of EU and US citizens are guaranteed, said MEP Raquel García Hermida-van der Walle.
European regulators “are monitoring the situation in the United States very carefully,” says Wojciech Wiewiórowski, the EU's data protection officer, in an interview with POLITICO. Europe “must be careful” about the flow of Europeans' data to the United States, he added.
In January, Hermida-van der Walle signed onto a letter from six prominent lawmakers calling on the Commission to withdraw due to the “current geopolitical context”, despite Washington's warning that failure to reach an agreement would mean Europeans would lose access to the visa waiver program.
Unprecedented access
According to a note sent to national experts US seeks access to information, including biometric data such as fingerprints, held in national databases in European countries. This data would be used to “combat illegal migration and prevent, detect and combat serious crimes, including terrorism,” the memo said.
In a previous opinion on the agreement, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), the supervisory authority advising the Commission on privacy policy, noted that the agreement would a first-of-its-kind agreement enabling “large-scale exchange of personal data for border control and immigration purposes” with a non-EU country.
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Washington is putting pressure on its EU partners by setting a deadline for concluding bilateral agreements by the end of 2026. If countries do not reach an agreement with the United States, they risk being excluded from the visa waiver program. The United States has made it mandatory for all countries participating in the visa waiver program to have an agreement.
— The pressure that the United States is putting on our member states, the threats that if they do not agree, the United States will withdraw their access to the visa waiver program, is an element of blackmail that we cannot allow, says Hermida-van der Walle.
The Data Protection Officer warned that the scope of data exchange should be as narrow as possible and each query should be clearly justified; transparency regarding the use of data and the possibility for any person to pursue legal redress in the United States must be ensured.
Commission spokesman Markus Lammert stressed during a recent press conference that the framework being negotiated would include “clear and robust data protection safeguards” and ensure “the exchange of information is non-systematic and limited to what is strictly necessary to achieve the objectives of this cooperation.”
A spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement:
“Under the leadership of the Undersecretary [Kristi] Noem DHS has made great progress in restoring the integrity and expanding programs that facilitate safe entry into the United States, such as the Visa Waiver Program and Global Entry. “We will not get ahead of any potential announcements that may occur.”
Privacy in the US under pressure
Data access is another information privacy issue where the US is putting pressure on the EU, straining already tense relations.
Since Edward Snowden exposed the United States' mass surveillance practices against Europeans in 2013, the EU has tightened its grip on how Washington handles Europeans' data.
Since Donald Trump's return to the presidency last year, officials and human rights groups have condemned the US administration's actions to weaken a key body overseeing the privacy protection of Europeans.
The Trump administration has also stepped up mass surveillance of citizens by federal agencies such as ICE, among others. through deals with Israeli spyware company Paragon, surveillance giant Palantir and others.
Capgemini, a prominent French IT company, announced on Sunday, February 1, that it was selling its US operations after facing political backlash from the French government over the use of its software by ICE authorities.
Civil rights groups, lawmakers and other watchdogs fear new EU-US data-sharing agreements will further reduce privacy rights.
— Current initiatives are presented as measures to fight terrorism, but many of them are in fact adopted to have a chilling effect [na aktywizm polityczny] Statewatch's Lanneau said.
Hermida-van der Walle, warns that “people who go to the United States face the risk of self-censorship.”
— This is due to the actions of the administration, which claims to be the greatest defender of freedom of speech. Meanwhile, its actions limit citizens' ability to freely express their opinions, for example by blocking their entry to the United States, he claims.
I’m Ashley Davis as an editor, I’m committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accuracy in every piece we publish. My work is driven by curiosity, a passion for truth, and a belief that journalism plays a crucial role in shaping public discourse. I strive to tell stories that not only inform but also inspire action and conversation.
