Passenger data (PNR)
Commission proposal not an acceptable basis for any new PNR agreements
The European Commission today presented its 'PNR Package' setting out its policy on the exchange of passenger name records with third countries and agreements with the US, Australia and Canada. The Greens criticised the proposals, with German Green MEP Jan Philipp Albrecht responding:
"Today's proposals show that the Commission has still not fully got the message on passenger data transfer. The proposed mandates fail to provide sufficient guarantees to ensure that EU data protection law will be respected, as demanded by the EU Parliament (1). Parliament made clear that the general transfer and storage of personal data, as well as excessive storage, is simply not acceptable. Any data transferred must be immediately deleted if there is no individual suspicion. These red lines must be respected before the Parliament can accept any agreement.
"It is now up to the Council to set strict framework conditions for any data transfer to third countries. According to the European Court of Human Rights and the German constitutional court, such data collection is only acceptable in exceptional cases and with high barriers for data access. The failure to state this loud and clear is tantamount to accepting the dangerous paradigm of a general suspicion, which has been progressively pervaded security policy over the past decade."
(1) The European Parliament adopted a resolution on PNR in May.
