Talks between Brussels and the Trump administration over an "Enhanced Border Security Partnership" (EBSP) Framework Agreement are nearing completion, according to leaked documents. The accord would permit US border officials to cross-reference travellers against biometric records and assess them for potential security threats. Observers worry that the Commission has yielded substantially to American pressure, intensifying surveillance of passengers and jeopardising core rights protections.
Washington's condition: biometric access or lose visa exemption
In 2022, Washington signalled it would demand entry to the biometric databases of nations seeking to maintain visa-free status for their residents, a requirement that extended to EU Member States. These partnerships centre on the systematic sharing of personal information to verify identities and screen individuals crossing borders.
The Commission initiated preliminary discussions with the US in 2022, but did not obtain formal authorisation from the Council of the EU to conduct negotiations until December 2025. The Framework Agreement under discussion would establish procedures for data sharing and rules governing how personal information is handled between Washington and the Member States. Following such an accord, individual EU nations would then negotiate or revise their own bilateral EBSP arrangements with the US.
Brussels capitulating to American demands for mass traveller profiling
Washington's insistence on extensive profiling and surveillance of passengers as a prerequisite for remaining in its Visa Waiver Programme amounts to coercion. The EU's willingness to accept these conditions in this power dynamic poses grave risks to the rights of European citizens and non-EU nationals whose information sits in European systems.
The arrangement would involve routine transmission of biometric material and other highly delicate, subjective "risk indicators" drawn from European national registries to American authorities, an administration that has demonstrated contempt for fundamental human protections in its treatment of migrants and travellers. The draft agreement provides no safeguards against discrimination rooted in political views, a significant gap given that Washington already engages in political repression, including the unlawful monitoring of travellers' online activity. Transferring individual risk profiles ostensibly for "public security and public order" purposes under the EBSP framework risks targeting opposition to the Trump administration, advocacy for transgender rights, or publicly stated positions against the Gaza conflict, with serious consequences including border detention.
Transparency around the negotiations remains limited due to confidentiality restrictions. In May 2026, however, Statewatch, an EDRi member organisation, obtained and published a "revised version" of the draft Framework Agreement, exposing the trajectory of the emerging arrangement.
EDRi's assessment indicates that the negotiated language predominantly mirrors American demands for unrestricted data access. This creates two critical concerns: (1) the framework deviates markedly from the mandate Member States provided to negotiators; (2) substantial portions conflict with EU foundational and enacted law, particularly the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Specifically, the text fails to meet the EU's core requirement that international data transfers achieve an essentially equivalent protection standard – a threshold the Court of Justice of the EU would almost certainly find the agreement violates.
EDRi's position: the EU must stand firm on rights protection
European decision-makers must resist American pressure and preserve essential protections for fundamental rights in the face of continued US coercion against the EU. Europe's strength depends on robust legal frameworks, and policymakers should concentrate on reinforcing defences against data misuse and privacy breaches rather than yielding to American demands.
EDRi calls on the Commission and Council to reject the American government's ultimatum and decline to transfer citizens' personal information to a nation with a documented pattern of human rights abuses and deteriorating democratic standards.
