Joe Biden: “…if we are honest with one another”

If there is one thing, Americans are good at, it is giving speeches, convincing people with the force of their own self-confidence, by appealing to other people's beliefs, hopes, and by stating their goodwill. One of these Americans is US-Vice-President Joe Biden who gave a 30 minutes speech at the European Parliament on May 6^th, 2010. His speech was remarkable. Moving. Characterized by a seemingly impeccable rhetoric, Biden's speech had the potential to convince everyone – it even almost convinced me, since I am one of these Europeans that would hope to have reasons to believe in the enduring existence of a special transatlantic relationship, that "we need each other".

Biden would have convinced me had I not been aware of the broader context of how reality looks like if not colored by emotionally laden words. One could pick an argument with Biden's claim that the "US and Europe, if working together, can achieve anything they want," that "the US wants a strong Europe", that "America's commitment to privacy is profound – profound as yours (i.e. the Europeans)". But I don't want to attack his speech, since there was one basic truth in it that I am immensely grateful for he mentioned, and on which the US seems to be way ahead of Europe. We should thank Biden for reminding us that a "government's primary and most fundamental and most solemn duty is to protect its citizens, the citizens it serves, as well as the rights they hold." What the limits of executing this duty are is another question. Fact remains that Biden is right – at least in principle. In that sense, Europeans have to understand that US politicians have a duty to protect the "physical safety" of their citizens. Europeans might feel alienated by such a citizen-centered policy, but maybe our unease and dissatisfaction with US politics would evaporate if we could only acknowledge that, justifiably, the life of an American has to be the prime concern of any US government, and thus matter more than the privacy rights of Europeans. One could think that such a "the interest of my citizens justifies any mean" argument puts MEPs (Member of the European Parliament) in an awful position: How can they reproach the US for protecting their citizens?! But if one listens closely, thankfully, Biden himself gave us the answer of why the US can make no claim to European legislators to help the US carry out this duty, why Europeans do not have a duty to approve the to be renegotiated SWIFT agreement or the agreement on PNR (Passenger Name Records). As Biden luckily reminded us, the European Union's "primary and most fundamental and most solemn duty is to protect its citizens, the citizens it serves, as well as the rights they hold," i.e. in this case the rights of European and not American citizens. Even though some people on both sides of the Atlantic tend to forget this, the European Parliament couldn't care less about the physical safety of Americans if caring entailed compromising its own citizens' fundamental freedoms.

But I said at the beginning, I wished there were reasons to believe in the enduring existence of a special transatlantic relationship. And sometimes legally protected interests are in opposition to one another, while the more important or fundamental one should prevail. So maybe, Europe, for moral reasons or as a matter of showing its maturity to finally carry part of the burden to maintain international stability, could make unilateral sacrifices for the lives of our fellow American friends, and could relinquish some of the fundamental rights Europeans enjoy. Let's not worry about the trustworthiness of the US government and administration, about the human right standards they apply to foreigners or their unwillingness to reciprocate. Let's ignore these little voices in our head that should warn us against any data sharing agreement with the US. Let's ignore them for a working and long-lasting transatlantic relationship that we seem to value above everything else. Let's not question the necessity, effectiveness or adequacy of their requests. …. Or shall we?

The US government by largely restricting the access by Europeans to its records on the results of all its counter-terrorism efforts makes it hard for us to assess whether or not US efforts are beneficial to us, and whether or not they are necessary, effective and adequate to protect American lives. This means that no direct cost-benefit analysis can indicate us whether or not privacy invasions can be justified for counter-terrorism purposes. Luckily, all this is secondary, as a more philosophical question of perceived necessity can tell Europe about the fairness of US' requests. Maybe it is contrary to popular belief, but Americans are not willing to have their security guaranteed at all costs: they cry out loud when certain people suggest denying suspected terrorists the right to purchase firearms. They are outraged by any government's interference in their personal lives (just look at facts such as the opposition to the introduction of nation-wide ID cards or e-verify, the public discourse of politicians, the media – liberal and others - and reader comments. Interesting are also statements of many American civil rights associations such as the ACLU or the Identity Project). The US Privacy Act of 1974 provides the bottom line of the extent to which Americans are willing to compromise the protection of their own personal data. Unfortunately, as it does not apply to non-permanently resident non-US citizens, it does not at all protect Europeans (unless they are green card holders) as can be seen here, here and here (this latter link is also very instructive on the trustworthiness of the US government and administration).

So let's be honest with one another: All this talk about needing each other and working together doesn't matter a whole lot of nothing. When the European Parliament will be asked to authorize data transfers to the US, all it really needs to ask in order to decide what to do is as simple as that: If not even Americans are willing to give up their own constitutional rights for the greater good of ensuring their physical safety, then why should Europeans? The US basically requests Europe to authorize data transfers even though the protection offered to the concerned data subjects (Europeans) would be less than what Americans under the US Privacy Act consider an acceptable bottom line for themselves. But then, why should Europeans compromise their fundamental freedoms for others if not even Americans believe in the necessity and proportionality of making such a sacrifice for their own lives.

I wonder if America has an honest answer to that…