EU/USA agreement: processing and transfer of passenger name record (PNR) data by air carriers (2007 PNR agreement)

The Council adopted a decision on the signing of the agreement between the European Union and Australia on the processing and transfer of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data, which will replace the one applied on a provisional basis since 2008. The signing will probably take place before the end of September 2011. After that, the European Parliament will be asked to give its consent to the agreement, which is necessary before the Council can adopt its decision on the conclusion of the agreement.

The EU currently has agreements on the transfer and use of passenger name records (PNR) with Australia, Canada and the United States of America. In May 2010, the European Parliament decided to postpone its vote on the request for consent on these existing PNR agreements with the US and Australia. These two agreements have therefore not been concluded yet and have been applied on a provisional basis since 2007 and 2008, respectively. In a resolution, Parliament demanded that new agreements should be negotiated with the US and Australia as well as with Canada, with which a PNR Agreement has been in force since 2006.

While negotiations on the PNR agreement with Australia have now been finalised, those on revised PNR agreements with the US and Canada are still ongoing.