BRUSSELS, Belgium_European Union parliamentarians are expected to demand Wednesday that privacy of European travelers to the United States will be fully respected once a new trans-Atlantic deal on sharing passenger information comes into force.

At a special hearing on the issue, legislators from the 27 EU nations will insist that member states fully protect the rights of passengers under a current trans-Atlantic deal.

The EU's justice and security commissioner has sent a letter, seeking assurances that data on Europeans handled through the U.S. Automated Targeting System, or ATS, conforms with the agreement reached in October.

The system has drawn criticism since it became clear that ATS has been assessing millions of people _ Americans and foreigners _ since 2002. Some members of the U.S. Congress and privacy advocates have questioned the program's legality.

Members of the European Parliament have also raised privacy concerns and those concerns will be raised at the hearing on Wednesday, officials said.

After months of wrangling over privacy rights, Brussels and Washington struck a deal in October that allows American law enforcement agencies to request access to passenger data on U.S.-bound flights.