EU Commission Expects New Data Transfer Deal With US in 3 Months

The European Union expects a new EU-US agreement on the transfer of personal data to be concluded in three months, the European Commission (EC) said in a statement.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The European Court of Justice ruled in October that EU-US Safe Harbour agreement in place since 2000 on European citizens' data transfer to the United States was invalid.

"We need an agreement with our US partners in the next three months… Today we provide clear guidelines and we commit to a clear timeframe to conclude current negotiations… While alternative tools exist, a safer new Framework is the best solution to protect our citizens and cut red tape for businesses," the statement quoted EC Vice-President Andrus Ansip as saying Friday.

The Commission ruled out that Safe Harbour agreement could further serve as a legal basis for personal data transfers to the United States.

The EU-US Safe Harbor agreement established logistics for exchange of data for commercial purposes between companies, including large-scale entities like Google and Facebook.

Europeans are particularly concerned about personal data protection after Snowden released in 2013 over 200,000 documents revealing that the agency was conducting mass surveillance programs, targeting people in the United States and globally.