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