On June 15, Biden will meet with European Union leaders in Brussels and according to five people with knowledge of the matter, he aims to secure a political agreement with them to restore confidence in the trans-Atlantic flow of data.
A deal like that would be a big step in clearing away the dark clouds that have been hanging over the relationship since Edward Snowden blew the whistle on what US intelligence agencies were doing across the globe, including many of the 27 countries in the bloc.
A new way forward is needed
The EU’s highest court struck down data transfer agreements that underpin billions of dollars of trade between the US and the EU. In what’s become known as the Schrems II ruling, the Privacy Shield agreement was taken down to protect EU citizens’ data.
The deal Biden wants will be in the form of a political agreement with top-level leaders like EU president Ursula von der Leyen, to lay the groundwork for a new deal.
Companies from the US have been pushing for an agreement for almost a year now, with major obstacles still in place.
The fox wants back in the chicken coop
The EU is right to be wary of the US and its prolific mass surveillance systems that somehow seem to keep their eyes on everything and get their hands on data they should not have. On Sunday, a Danish public broadcaster claimed that the country had helped the NSA eavesdrop on EU leaders.
French President Emmanuel Macron demands answers from both the US and Denmark regarding this, in a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday.
What Biden wants to do with Ursula is come up with a broad framework and leave the details to negotiating teams from both sides.
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