Security: European Parliament Approves Passenger Name Record Agreement with the U.S.

SOURCE Delegation of the European Union to the United States

Following today's European Parliament plenary vote on the Passenger Name Record (PNR) Agreement with the United States of America, European Union Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom issued the following statement:

"I welcome today's vote of the European Parliament giving its consent to the new Passenger Name Record Agreement with the United States of America. This is an agreement the three EU institutions can be proud of: it provides stronger protection of EU citizens' right to privacy and more legal certainty for air carriers than the existing EU-U.S. PNR Agreement from 2007. At the same time, it fully meets the security needs of the United States of America and the EU.

Under the new agreement, data of passengers travelling to the United States of America will be used to fight serious transnational crime and terrorism. It will be made anonymous six months after a passengers' flight. EU citizens will be informed about the use of their data, and will be able to access and request the correction or deletion of their PNR data. The new agreement is a substantial improvement on the existing Agreement from 2007, and I am pleased that the European Parliament has recognized this today."