After the European Parliament consented to the US PNR Agreement by 409 to 226 votes (strangely the EUObserver thinks this is "half-hearted" support; I call it a pretty solid majority), the Council has also passed the Agreement.
The treaty will probably come into force on 1st June 2012 (PDF).
The Parliament is also currently debating the EU's own PNR system, which monitors passengers on flights into and out of the EU (though it may be extended to cover flights within the EU if the proposal is amended) by collecting the flight information of all passengers. The LIBE Committee's draft report has been published (PDF), and there are over 400 proposed amendments to the proposed Directive (PDF 1 and 2).
Another stab in the heart of data protection!
ReplyDeleteAre we now going to see the re-working of other PNR agreements too like with Canada and Australia? Is China going to suddenly want this information too since it is becoming a world power?
It's an incredible failing by the EU which outwardly claims to be different to the USA, but in reality wants nothing more than to replicate it.
A new PNR deal with Australia was ratified at the end of last year, I think, and negotiations with Canada are ongoing.
ReplyDeleteAnd the Commission plans to propose an EU version of the SWIFT agreement on Terrorist Financial Tracking Programme later this year...