An EU commissioner warned that U.S. antiterror efforts could breach European privacy laws.

Overseas Security Advisory Council: " An EU commissioner warned that U.S. antiterror efforts could breach European privacy laws.

The European Commission this week warned that a trans-Atlantic row may soon result if U.S. demands for airlines to reveal passenger information as an antiterror measure aren't backed by adequate privacy safeguards. In a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, the European Union commissioner in charge of customs issues, Frits Bolkestein, said that only a 'tightly worded undertaking' about the manner in which passenger information is handled and shared is acceptable.

'Data protection authorities here take the view that [passenger] data is flowing to the U.S. in breach of our Data Protection Directive,' Bolkestein said in his letter. 'It is thus urgent to establish a framework which is more legally secure.'

The letter was originally sent to Ridge in June but was released to journalists this week after a meeting on the topic by European Commission representatives, who said they hadn't won any significant concessions from the U.S. so far. "