EU and US reach agreement over transfer of passenger data

The agreement between the EU and the US on passenger name record (PNR) data, announced on 16 December 2003, means that 34 elements of personal data given at the time of check-in for transatlantic flights will be legally transmitted to the US Customs and Border Protection Bureau. The bureau will then screen passengers for possible involvement in terrorist activities or other serious crimes. The data will include a wide range of information such as addresses, date of birth, credit card numbers, the number of people travelling together and the number of bags they are carrying. The agreement is a clear indication that the handling of the data by the US authorities is regarded by the EU as providing sufficient safeguards for passenger privacy.

Speaking before the European Parliament, which has in the past expressed strong reservations about the transfer of passenger data, the Commissioner Frits Bolkestein said: "In the end the United States has made a number of important concessions".

In a compromise move, the US agreed to reduce the length of data storage from fifty to 3.5 years. It also agreed to use the data only in fighting terrorism and related crimes and not for ordinary crimes as it had initially requested.

Subject to review by the European Parliament, the agreement will enter into effect and be in place for three and a half years with renegotiations beginning in two and a half years.