Data protection/PNR

Leaked drafts of EU-US and EU-Australia agreements on the retention of passenger name records (PNR), negotiated by the European Commission (1), have been slammed by Green MEPs. Commenting on the draft, Green MEP and home affairs expert Jan Philipp Albrecht said:

“The far-reaching retention of citizen's personal data foreseen under this agreement - for 15 years - is not only totally disproportionate and unjustifiable, it is legally unsound and is in clear breach of decisions by constitutional courts in Europe. The European Council and Parliament must call an immediate halt to these agreements, which fly in the face of EU data protection norms and are at odds with the provisions of the EU treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

"In the event that the Commission tries to force these agreements through, the logical consequence would be a legal challenge in the European Court of Justice. Given the clear violation of fundamental European legal principles, as made clear in previous European Parliament resolutions, it hard to see how the European Parliament could approve any PNR agreement along these lines. Regardless, there is a need to get clarity on the legality of any agreement before the European Parliament can vote on whether or not to give its consent. The Greens believe that any agreement should be referred to the European Court of Justice for its opinion and will be taking steps to this end."

(1) EU-US agreement text: http://www.statewatch.org/news/2011/may/eu-usa-pnr-agreement-20-5-11-fin.pdf