Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know

The UK has opted in to a new EU agreement with the US over the exchange of airline passenger information, the Immigration Minister has said.

Damian Green made the announcement despite criticisms from privacy watchdogs about the agreement. He said passenger name record (PNR) data was "vital" in order to prevent terrorism and serious crime.

"The UK, in common with many other EU Member States and third countries, places considerable value on the collection and analysis of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data ... for the purpose of preventing terrorism and serious crime. The appropriate use of PNR data is vital in keeping the public safe," Green said in a ministerial statement

"Clear PNR agreements between the EU and third countries play a vital role in removing legal uncertainty for air carriers flying to those countries, and help ensure that PNR information can be shared quickly and securely, with all necessary data protection safeguards in place. It is for this reason the government has opted in to the EU-US Agreement on the exchange of passenger name record data, notifying the President of the Council [of Ministers] on 9 February 2012," he said.

PNR data may include personal information such as home addresses, mobile phone numbers, frequent flyer information, email addresses and credit card details.

In November the European Commission announced that it had come to a new EU-US PNR agreement with US authorities requiring airline carriers flying from the EU into the US to share PNR data about all passengers with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The main purpose of the data transfer is the "prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorism and certain transnational crimes," the Commission said.

Under the agreement PNR data can also be used "on a case-by-case basis for the protection of vital interests of passengers, for example to protect against communicable diseases, or if ordered by a US court," it said.

Under the agreement the DHS is "obliged" to share PNR data and any "analytical information" it obtains from it with EU "law enforcement and judicial authorities" for the same purposes, which the Commission said would "be of direct benefit for the EU". The agreement, which would replace the existing PNR agreement the EU and US formed in 2007, has still to be formally approved by the European Parliament and Council of Ministers before it can come into effect.

Under the new agreement US security will be able to store identifying information about passengers for six months after it is sent. After this period the information will be "depersonalised" and can be retained for another 14 and a half years, the Commission said.

EU privacy watchdogs, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) and the Article 29 Working Party, have both expressed concern about aspects of the agreement.

Earlier this year the Working Party, which is comprised of representatives from the data protection authorities of the EU's 27 member states, said that the new EU-US PNR agreement enables overly-prescriptive collection of personal data. In December EDPS Peter Hustinx said that any passenger data transferred under a new agreement should be deleted "immediately after its analysis" or after a maximum of six months. He also said that any data should only be used to combat terrorism or a well-defined list of serious international crimes.

However, Green said that privacy and security could be balanced.

"We must resist trading one off against the other as some would wish us to do," the Minister said.

"We are firmly committed to consistency in our approach to civil liberties and will seek to translate our domestic agenda to the EU level - this includes purpose limitation; rigorous evidence based arguments; the principles of necessity and proportionality; stringent data protection safeguards, especially when handling sensitive personal data; independent data protection oversight; and, of course, full compliance with EU law and the EU Treaties."

"We fully recognise the importance of working with partners outside the EU given that the threats we face are global in nature and, in common with other EU Member States, we view the US as a key partner," he said.

Green said that the Government wants to see a new EU PNR Directive introduced that provides a legal framework for the exchange of PNR data between EU countries for "intra-EU flights".

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