The European Union and United States have made progress in talks on sharing air passenger data and are confident of reaching an deal before a July deadline.
German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said he was aiming to clinch a deal on the measure, designed to fight terrorism but criticised by civil liberties campaigners, before an EU-US summit at the end of this month in Washington.
"It isn't easy, but we have made good progress and are sure that we will manage it," Mr Schaeuble said after a meeting of US and EU officials, including US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
The United States says it needs the data to identify criminals or potential terrorists.
If no deal is reached by the end of July, when a current temporary framework expires, the United States could in theory stop planes landing, although in practice it would probably make agreements with individual states or airlines.
The EU wants to avoid this outcome, saying it could weaken data privacy. As EU president, Germany hosted today's meeting.
Under the existing pact, European airlines have to pass on up to 34 items of data on passengers, including addresses and credit card details, to be able to land at US airports.
The EU's top court struck down a previous passenger data agreement on a legal technicality last May after a challenge from the European parliament.
Some EU lawmakers have accused EU negotiators of caving in to US pressure after the September 11th, 2001, attacks.
The EU, keen to show it is upholding passengers' privacy rights, wants airlines to pass on specific data rather than have US authorities take information from airlines' databases.