The European Union has agreed to cooperate with the United States on an airline security program that has been widely criticized by privacy groups. Under the agreement, airlines flying from Europe to the U.S. will be required to hand over detailed personal information on passengers. Depending on the circumstances, the information could include racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, data about an individual’s health, traveling partners, sexual orientation and whether the passenger is a member of a labor union. Airlines will not be required to collect this information about passengers, but any such information that exists in their reservation system will be shared. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff praised the pact as an essential screening tool. Chertoff said such a system would have helped uncover many of the 9/11 hijackers. Jim Dempsey of the Center for Democracy and Technology said, “This is part of a broader trend of the government building databases on the ordinary, lawful activities of ordinary, law-abiding people.”