Abstract
In 1995, the European Unión adopted a communitarian directive requiring "an adequate level of protection" by third countries, in order to authorize the transference of personal data to them. This article analyzes the meaning of the criterion of adequacy and how it has been applied in the "Safe Harbor Agreement" between the United States and the European Union, and in the declaration by the latter that Argentina was a "safe country". Immediately, this article explores the goals of the policy of the European Union and its compliance with the General Agreement on Trade in Services. The underlying hypothesis is that, in order to comply with the obligation set forth by this Agreement, which prevents arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between countries, the European Union has eroded its purpose of achieving an "adequate level of protection" anywhere that it exports personal data.
