Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-10-11-Speech-3-111"
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".
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, talks on releasing passenger data to the United States of America were brought to a conclusion last week. The outcome of the talks helped to avoid a state of non-agreement between the EU and the United States, which is very important.
Secondly, I wish to stress that the commitments on the use of PNR data given previously by the US administration will continue to apply. The aim is to guarantee the same level of data protection for citizens’ PNR data as with the previous system. The agreement contains a provision which states that the US Department of Homeland Security should be seen to guarantee adequate protection for PNR data sent from the EU. This relies specifically on the notion that the DHS will continue to comply with its commitments made in 2004. Owing to the organisational changes in the US administration, under the new agreement the number of authorities with electronic access to PNR is greater than before. These authorities have, however, been specified in the agreement.
Thirdly, I am glad that the release of PNR data under the new agreement is aimed at the same 34 fields of data as in the earlier arrangement.
Fourthly, the new agreement will guarantee the legal security of the public and that transatlantic flights will continue. At the same time it will ensure that airlines are able to operate viably.
We have other good news for airlines. During the negotiations, the United States undertook to test systems where airlines can themselves store PNR data on the databases of the US authorities, starting this year. This has always been an important objective for us.
Talks on a more permanent PNR system to replace this temporary agreement in July 2007 are to commence in the near future. We have also agreed that questions relating to the storage and destruction of data should only be resolved during these talks on the PNR system. We shall therefore return to this matter very soon.
Mr President, I regret that I cannot stay here for this debate as I have to leave at 6.20 p.m. as agreed earlier with Parliament, and, unfortunately, my flight will not wait a minute longer.
The Presidency has received a letter dated yesterday from Sophia in 't Veld, the European Parliament’s rapporteur for the PNR report, and we shall return to the questions raised in it in more detail in writing as soon as possible.
In the negotiations, we agreed on a new temporary PNR agreement. Its purpose is to replace the earlier agreement made in 2004, which the Court of Justice of the European Communities overturned in its judgment last May. The negotiations were tough, as the annulment of the earlier agreement threatened to push the EU and the United States into a state of total non-agreement. Despite the difficulties, the negotiations mandate given by the Council in June 2006 was adhered to. The new arrangement will guarantee both the level of protection of personal data under the former agreement and the continuation of transatlantic air traffic. The arrangement therefore makes it possible for passenger data to be released to the US authorities in the future, at the same time guaranteeing an adequate level of data protection when the information is being processed, in accordance with the commitments given previously by the US Customs and Border Protection.
The Committee of Permanent Representatives followed the progress of the talks closely and discussed the outcome and its content on 6 October. Coreper said that it was in favour of signing the text of the negotiations. The outcome of the talks was reported to the Ministers of Justice in the Justice and Home Affairs Council, which began immediately after Coreper.
The temporary agreement which resulted from the negotiations will apply after it has been signed. Coreper will sign it for the EU tomorrow, and the intention is that the Council should grant the authority to sign as soon as possible.
The temporary agreement will remain in force until the end of July 2007. During this time, the parties intend to agree on a more permanent arrangement for releasing PNR data. The aim is to start these talks as soon as possible.
It took some hard negotiation to reach agreement. The United States wanted to change the previous arrangement so that it would accord better with an altered operational environment. The biggest challenge in the negotiations was how to respond to the changes that had occurred since 2004 in US legislation and the organisation of the administration while at the same time maintaining the principles relating to standards of data protection for Europeans.
In addition to the text of the agreement itself, the talks also covered a letter by US negotiators addressed to the Commission and the Presidency which discusses the interpretation of the commitments made regarding the use of PNR data. The EU will take the letter into consideration, but it will not become a part of the agreement.
The outcome of the talks is a success for many reasons. Firstly, the temporary arrangement aims at ensuring the security of air passengers. This is vitally important."@en1
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