The European Commission (the EU’s executive branch) gave the US 13 demands that it wanted met in order for the Safe Harbor deal to continue. So far, however, no agreement has been reached. A summer 2014 deadline was postponed and the Commission now hopes to conclude talks on the deal by the end of May 2015.
If that does not happen though, the deal could be suspended, which would have huge implications for US tech companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter, who use the agreement to process EU citizen data in the US.
In addition to key issues as Safe Harbor and judicial redress, the MEPs are also looking to give the US an update on data protection reform in the EU, detailing how it how it might affect trans-Atlantic relations. In return, the MEPs hope to get an insight into recent US initiatives on data protection.
The MEPs will also give a progress report on counter-terrorism and law enforcement proposals, including a plan for the exchange of Passenger Name Records (PNR), put together in the wake of recent terrorist attacks in Europe, they said.
The MEPs will talk with various representatives of Congress, government departments and agencies including the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security and the US Federal Trade Commission, as well as various academics.
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