AUSTRIAN INTERIOR MINISTRY ON NEGOTIATING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 VIENNA 001878

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/22/2023
TAGS: CVIS KJUS PGOV PTER AU
SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN INTERIOR MINISTRY ON NEGOTIATING
VWP-RELATED SECURITY AGREEMENTS

REF: VIENNA 1362

Classified By: Econ/Pol Counselor Dean Yap. Reason: 1.4(b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. Resolution of outstanding data protection
issues -- whether with the EU or on a bilateral basis --
remains key to concluding U.S.-Austria VWP-related HSPD-6 and
PCSC agreements, according to Austrian Interior Ministry
Bilateral and Multilateral Affairs Director Kurt Hager
(strictly protect). To move forward bilaterally, Hager
proposes the U.S. send a multi-agency expert delegation to
discuss U.S. data protection law and practice with their
Austrian equivalents. Hager accepted the idea of a letter
from Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff to Austrian Foreign
Minister Spindelegger that would lay out the requirements of
the 2007 VWP legislation and what Austria needs to do to come
into compliance, with a confirming answer from Spindelegger,
as an acceptable way to start the process of dialogue on both
data protection and other issues. End Summary.

Exchange of Letters
--------------


2. (C) Econ/Pol Counselor met Dec. 19 with Hager, who had
just returned from Brussels. He reported that the Commission
had briefed the member states on the U.S. decision to drop
the VWP Memorandum of Understanding and simply send letters
to appropriate Ministers in VWP member states. The
Commission also acknowledged that EU VWP member states were
now free to proceed with bilateral negotiations with the U.S.
Hager reported that Austrian Foreign Minister Michael
Spindelegger would be the appropriate recipient for the
letter in Austria, as the Foreign Ministry was formally in
charge of all VWP-related negotiations. However, because the
substance of the agreements to be negotiated falls within the
competence of the Interior Ministry, a copy of the letter
should also be sent to Interior Minister Maria Fekter.


3. (C) Hager suggested that the U.S. should also pass an
informal reply text, which Spindelegger would draw from in
preparing his reply to Sec. Chertoff. Together, Hager noted,
these two letters would be the functional equivalent of an
MOU. Hager was unaware that the U.S. and Germany had already
completed such an exchange. He suggested that, if the U.S.
could provide it, German Interior Minister Schaeuble's reply
to Chertoff would be a useful model for Spindelegger. Hager
cautioned that an Austrian reply would take several weeks to
prepare and process.

Data Protection
--------------


4. (C) Hager reaffirmed that, while much of the substance of
the HSPD-6 and PCSC agreements was non-controversial,
Austria's data protection community remains convinced that
the U.S. would not provide adequate protection for shared
data. He described a multi-layered system of data
protection, centered on the Data Protection Division in the
Constitutional Service Section of the Chancellor's Office
(VD/DS). This makes judgments on the constitutionality of
legislative proposals and also provides support for the Data
Protection Council (DSR),and advisory body to both
parliament and government. A third body, the Data Protection
Commission, focuses mainly on implementation of data
protection law within Austria. According to Hager, the DSR
has already informed the government and parliament that it
does not believe the data protection provisions in the
U.S.-EU PNR agreement and the proposed PCSC are adequate to
meet Austrian law. He was not aware if they had yet offered
an opinion on the draft HSPD-6. It is possible for
government and parliament to disregard a DSR recommendation,
but doing so carries a high political and legal risk.


5. (C) Therefore, Hager recommends that the first step in
negotiating the U.S.-Austrian agreements be the dispatch to
Vienna of an expert-level inter-agency delegation for data
protection talks with representatives from both VD/SA and
DSR. He reported that the next Austrian inter-agency VWP
coordination meeting will be Jan. 13, noting that this would
be the first opportunity for the GoA to review a U.S. letter
and/or proposal for talks. A U.S. delegation should be
prepared to address the U.S. legal and regulatory frameworks
in detail, as well as the specific issues of transfer of data
to third parties and legal redress for non-U.S. citizens that
are outstanding between the U.S. and EU.


6. (C) The alternative to a bilateral resolution of data
protection questions is, according to Hager, to negotiate the
other provisions of the two agreements, leaving the data
protection provisions bracketed pending the conclusion of a
U.S.-EU agreement.

VIENNA 00001878 002 OF 002



Lost and Stolen Passport Letter Exchange
--------------


7. (U) Hager saw no objection to an exchange of letters on
lost-and-stolen Passports, provided the exchange does not go
beyond confirming what the two countries are now doing and
will continue to do. He requested an informal exchange of
texts prior to the final exchange.
GIRARD-DICARLO