The Internal Security session of the 'Justice and Home Affairs' (JHA) Council, held in Brussels on Friday 4 December 2015, resulted in a draft Passenger Name Record (PNR) directive aiming to regulate the communication of international flight passenger data by European companies in Member States and the processing of this data by competent national authorities.
The directive on PNR use will be geared towards the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime.
At the meeting, the Council also approved the political agreement negotiated by the Luxembourg Presidency on the regulation proposal of the European Agency for the cooperation of law enforcement agencies (Europol), which will be working at the service of Member States in respect of the prerogatives of each of the actors involved.
"Europol's adapted framework and the register of air passenger data reinforce the fight against terrorism and against organised crime," commented Étienne Schneider, Luxembourg Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Internal Security and President of the Council. "The compromise regarding PNR will allow for the implementation within the EU of a centralised and effective system of data collection which respects fundamental rights and liberties. The agreements reached in the Europol and PNR dossiers constitute a significant success for the Presidency."
Under the new directive, authorities within Member States will be legally entitles to PNR data for flights entering or leaving the European Union, as well as selected intra-EU flights. This PNR data will be received from air carriers through a so-called Passenger Information Unit, which each Member State will be required to set up.
During the Council meeting, EU Ministers in charge of Internal Security also explorer concrete ways to implement conclutions adopted at the extraordinary JHA Council of 20 November 2015, regarding the fight against terrorism. Étienne Schenider reaffirmed commitments to systematically controlling all external borders of the EU and strengthening the cross-border exchange of information on foreign terrorists.
Photo by European Union (L-R: French Minister of the Interior, Bernard Cazeneuve; Luxembourg Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Internal Security, Étienne Schneider)
