The Associated Press reports that European Officials plan to discuss “data protection and privacy rights” in tandem with trade talks with the U.S. this week. In a statement, Lithuania, which now holds the rotating EU presidency, said, “It will deal with data protection and privacy rights of EU citizens falling within the competence of the EU, addressing the scope and composition of future meetings.” In the wake of concerns about U.S. surveillance of EU officials, European Commission President Jose Manuel Durao Barroso said the process is “very important to build and to enforce the confidence that is necessary also to pursue very ambitious agreements that we hope to conclude with the United States, namely in the field of trade and investment.”
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