Schlagwort: PNR

European Commission finds shortcomings in the implementation of the Passenger Name Record Directive

Only two EU Member States have not yet implemented the EU PNR Directive, and almost all of them also use it for flights within the European Union. There are problems with data protection and data quality. Regardless of the lawsuits before the European Court of Justice, the EU Commission is working on an extension.

Four years ago, the European Union adopted the „EU Passenger Name Record (PNR) Directive“. In order to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute terrorist offences and serious crime, the 26 EU member states participating in the directive are to set up a Passenger Information Unit (PIU), which will receive extensive data records on passengers from the airlines when they book and board flights. The European Commission has now submitted a report on the implementation of the measures, as required. „European Commission finds shortcomings in the implementation of the Passenger Name Record Directive“ weiterlesen

EU Presidency: German government wants to use passenger data to track corona infections

In an EU-wide survey, the German Interior Ministry is examining how passenger data could be processed in the fight against the Covid 19 pandemic. This would require a change in the PNR directive. Possibly this would also affect bus and train travel.

On 1 July, Germany took over the EU Council Presidency in rotation. As one of the first initiatives in the area of Justice and Home Affairs, the German Ministry of the Interior is proposing to use passenger name records (PNR) collected from airlines to track Covid-19 infections. To this end, the government has sent a questionnaire to all other EU member states.

PNR data includes all information that travellers leave behind when booking and checking in with an airline, including names and contact details, credit card numbers, IP and e-mail addresses, hotels booked, fellow travellers and food preferences. This information is transmitted twice by the airlines to the relevant authorities in the destination country: when booking and when boarding the aircraft. „EU Presidency: German government wants to use passenger data to track corona infections“ weiterlesen

Customs Union: 27 countries „work together as if they were one“

Customs authorities are seen as „gatekeepers of EU borders for the flow of goods“. They increasingly rely on „risk analysis“ and new information systems. Now the EU customs cooperation with police and border authorities will be enhanced.

Since 1968, the European Economic Community has been a Customs Union for industrial products, and from 1970 for agricultural products as well. All customs formalities at the internal borders of the member states have been dropped. Even the level of customs duties at the external borders, on which all countries had previously decided on their own responsibility, has since been regulated by a common customs tariff.
The framework for today’s EU customs union is the Union Customs Code (CCC) adopted in 1992. It provides uniform rules for customs tariffs on imports from outside the EU. The European Commission constantly proposes updated customs regulations and monitors their implementation. The Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union (TAXUD) in Brussels has responsibility for this. It also operates the tariff system (TARIC3), which displays the current rates.

Customs duties are generally paid where the goods first arrive. The revenue generated is considered the EU’s „traditional own resources“ and covers around 14 percent of its total budget. The member states retain 20 percent of this amount for expenses incurred by their customs authorities and their control activities. In 2016, for example, the EU collected around 25 billion euros in customs duties, leaving 20 billion after deduction of national expenditure. In the last three years, around four billion euros of the total revenue came from Germany. „Customs Union: 27 countries „work together as if they were one““ weiterlesen

New agreements: European Union wants to expand use of passenger data

The EU Parliament is to deal with a new agreement on the exchange of passenger data with Canada. So far, PNR agreements exist only with the USA and Australia, but now the EU Commission also wants to negotiate with Japan. Others could follow after the International Civil Aviation Organization adopts new standards.

The member states of the European Union want to conclude a further agreement on the transmission and use of passenger data. A proposal to start negotiations with Japan was published by the EU Commission in September, and the EU interior ministers intend to adopt it at their next meeting in Brussels at the beginning of December. The EU Parliament will not be involved, the MEPs can only vote on the negotiated treaty. „New agreements: European Union wants to expand use of passenger data“ weiterlesen

Internal security in the EU: „Moving from data collection to data connection“

The European Union intends to further strengthen operational cooperation and exchange of information between police authorities. The focus will be on upgrading Europol, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

According to a paper by the Romanian government, Europol’s mandate and capabilities should be further strengthened. The police agency will therefore be developed into a „law enforcement information hub“.

The proposal was made within the framework of the EU Council Presidency, which Romania held in the first half of the year. Since 1 July, the European Union has been led by Finland, where the issues are dealt with further. „Internal security in the EU: „Moving from data collection to data connection““ weiterlesen

Mass travel monitoring: 500 new posts for German Passenger Name Record system

EU-wide surveillance of air travellers is gathering pace. In the first year, the German BKA manually inspected tens of thousands of passengers after the automated screening. The authorities ordered follow-up measures for 277 passengers. These include arrests, open or discreet checks.

German authorities continue to look for personnel to implement the retention of passenger data. Of the more than 500 posts planned for the new system, around one third are currently occupied. This was written by the German Federal Ministry of the Interior in response to questions on the EU Passenger Name Record (PNR) Directive.

The law passed in 2016 is intended to ensure comprehensive monitoring of air passengers. Airlines, travel agencies and other travel providers must transmit several dozen Passenger Name Records (PNR) to the responsible Passenger Information Unit (PIU) before each international flight. There they are stored and analysed in a Passenger Data Information System. The routinely processed information includes individual data, including name, address, flight connection, seat, meal requests or IP addresses. „Mass travel monitoring: 500 new posts for German Passenger Name Record system“ weiterlesen

Hausse drastique des recherches secrètes dans le système d’information de Schengen

Traduit par Puño Negra

Les forces de police et les services de renseignement européens utilisent le SIS II pour la recherche secrète de personnes et d’objets. Les autorités sont ainsi informées des itinéraires et des escortes des suspects. Les ministères de l’Intérieur de l’UE discutent actuellement de l’extension de cette méthode de recherche. Par exemple, un résultat positif pourrait être transmis à plusieurs États membres ou à tous les États membres.

De plus en plus de personnes dans l’Union européenne font l’objet de recherches secrètes. C’est le résultat de la réponse donnée par le ministère fédéral de l’Intérieur à une question écrite. Selon l’étude, 129 412 personnes ont été secrètement persécutées dans le système d’information Schengen (SIS II) l’année dernière. L’année précédente, il était de 96.108. On ne sait rien sur les raisons de cette forte augmentation. „Hausse drastique des recherches secrètes dans le système d’information de Schengen“ weiterlesen

Belgium wants passenger data of bus and train travellers from Great Britain

The EU directive on the use of passenger data requires airlines and other travel providers to provide personal data to the competent authorities before each trip. Belgium is the first EU Member State to apply this to land-based means of transport.

The Belgian government has decided to extend its passenger data system to coach and rail travel. This is what the International Railway Journal writes. It is therefore initially a test phase. According to an agreement with the British government, Belgian authorities receive the data of passengers using the Eurostar long-distance train, which runs between Brussels and London in the tunnel under the English Channel, before each arrival. Flixbus is the first bus company to take part in the exchange of passenger data. It is unclear whether the travel agencies in which the bus and train journeys are booked are also obliged to transmit the data. „Belgium wants passenger data of bus and train travellers from Great Britain“ weiterlesen

EU police show little interest in processing passenger data

Once called for as an indispensable tool in the fight against terrorism, the implementation of the EU directive on the use of passenger data is slow.

The „Passenger Name Records“ (PNR) package adopted over two years ago should have been transposed into national law by all Member States by 25 May this year. However, a considerable number of governments have not yet reported this to the Commission. This was confirmed by EU Internal Affairs Commissioner Julian King at a hearing in the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE). Previously, the civil rights organisation Statewatch had also reported on this.

According to the Directive, airlines, travel agencies and other operators have to transmit extensive personal data of their customers to the competent authorities before each trip. They are stored there for five years. These approximately 60 individual data fields include information on the itinerary, passengers, stopovers, hotels booked or rental cars. All booking information is processed, including e-mail address, billing address, travel agent responsible, languages of minors on the flight, food preferences or a doctorate. „EU police show little interest in processing passenger data“ weiterlesen

New data retention planned for border crossings of all European Union citizens

The European Union could soon save the date and place of each crossing of the EU’s external borders. Travellers’ identification documents would be read out and their biographical data saved along with information regarding border crossings. Police forces and intelligence services would have access to this data.

The European Commission published the final report of the High-Level Expert Group on Information Systems and Interoperability in May. According to this document, European border authorities could soon – unbeknownst to the travellers – be able to trawl through the travel routes of all nationals of EU member states. Alongside their biographical data, the system to be set up will log the direction in which borders are crossed. This new data repository on border crossings at all land, sea and air borders might form part of the Schengen Information System II (SIS II), which is the largest police and border authority database. Preference is being given to the establishment of an entirely new database, however. „New data retention planned for border crossings of all European Union citizens“ weiterlesen