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News Releases
No. 85/07
July 23, 2007
EU-US PASSENGER NAME RECORD (PNR) AGREEMENT APPROVED
The EU
General Affairs and External Relations Council
approved today the agreement between the European Union
and the United States on the processing and transfer of
Passenger Name Record (PNR) data.
The agreement replaces the interim agreement which was
signed by the EU and the United States in
October 2006,
and which expires on July 31, 2007. This agreement is to
be accompanied by an Exchange of Letters between the US
and the EU in which the US provides a set of assurances
to the EU as to the way in which the EU PNR data will be
handled. The
text of the agreement and the assurances
were agreed between the two parties following
discussions between the US Department of Homeland
Security and the
Presidency of the EU Council and the
European Commission.
The agreement aims to provide a long-term solution for
the processing and transfer of PNR data and will be
valid for a period of seven years, thus ensuring legal
certainty for a considerable period.
The EU welcomes the new agreement, which will help to
prevent and combat
terrorism and serious transnational
crime, whilst ensuring an adequate level of protection
of passengers' personal data in line with European
standards on fundamental rights and privacy. The
President of the EU Council recalled that, in the
Autumn, the European Commission will make proposals on
the mechanism for monitoring the implementation of the
agreement. These proposals will be discussed by the
appropriate Council preparatory bodies.
The agreement pays particular attention to the need to
respect citizens' fundamental rights and freedoms fully as laid down in Article 6(2) of the
Treaty on the
European Union, notably the right to privacy, the need
to ensure legal certainty and the protection of public
security.
The agreement and the Exchange of Letters include the
following important safeguards:
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As from January 1, 2008, airlines in the EU, which
satisfy certain technical requirements, will be required to send ("push") the
PNR data in their reservation systems to the US This system will replace the
one under which the US Department of Homeland Security had the right to access
electronically PNR data from air carriers' reservation/departure control
systems ("pull").
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The number of data collected will be of 19, instead of 34 as
foreseen by the interim agreement.
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The data will be retained in an active database for no more
than seven years, after which time the data will be moved to dormant,
non-operational status for no more than eight years.
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The data will be used only for the purpose of preventing and
combating terrorism and related offences and other serious offences that are
transnational in nature.
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The sensitive data (i.e. data revealing racial or ethnic
origin) must be filtered and deleted unless the data is accessed for an
exceptional case. In that event, the Commission will be informed that such
data have been accessed.
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The implementation of the agreement and the assurances will be
reviewed periodically. The EU will be represented in such reviews by the
Commissioner for
Justice, Freedom and Security or a person designated by him.
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The US has made a policy decision to extend the access and
redress mechanisms to all people irrespective of citizenship and country of
residence.
For further information, please visit:
http://www.eurunion.org/newsweb/HotTopics/PNR.htm .
Further Contact Information
Press and Public Diplomacy
Delegation of the European Commission
2300 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
http://www.eurunion.org/PressRoom
Tel: 202-862-9552
Fax: 202-429-1766
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