Europe and the US are negotiating a framework agreement for an Enhanced Security Border Partnership that would give the US Department of Homeland Security access to data on EU citizens. The proposed arrangement would allow “a reciprocal exchange of information” for security screening, identity verification and visa applications. Critics say the talks concern highly sensitive personal data and raise serious questions about how that information could be used by US authorities, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A leaked European draft reported by Statewatch indicates the EBSP “would involve mutual continuous and systematic transfers of biometric data”, understood to include fingerprints, photographs and genetic data. Statewatch warned that data exchanged under the proposal could be used for a broad set of purposes by the US. Those concerns include preventing or arresting people travelling to the US who have expressed opposition to US policies in Europe, or enabling automated discriminatory profiling of travellers, including EU citizens.
The negotiations have been kept largely out of public view. The Council of the European Union refused to release documents sought under Freedom of Information laws, arguing that disclosure would harm international relations and that it has a “wide discretion” in deciding whether publication would undermine the public interest. Similar attempts by journalists in Europe and Australia to obtain information have led to denials or heavily redacted material, while requests to Italy’s Home Office also went unanswered.
The US is conducting parallel talks with countries in the Visa Waiver Program, which allows nationals of participating countries to travel to the US for tourism or business for up to 90 days without a visa. US authorities expect EBSP to be in place by 31 December 2026. In the UK, the Home Office confirmed it had received a request from the US Department of Homeland Security regarding an Enhanced Security Border Partnership, but said “negotiations are not underway”. It said the US had requested the ability to check the fingerprints of UK citizens applying for a US visa against the UK national criminal fingerprint databases as a condition of ongoing membership of the US Visa Waiver Program.
Political opposition is emerging from privacy and civil liberties advocates. Sophie In’t Veld, a former Dutch member of the European Parliament, warned that European leaders speak about digital autonomy while surrendering highly sensitive data without legal protection to a US administration she described as hostile to Europe and Europeans. The dispute highlights a widening gap between official secrecy around cross-border data agreements and growing demands for transparency over biometric surveillance and immigration enforcement.
