Brussels, 12/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 11 July, the European Parliament transport committee discussed the use of passenger data with a view to combating terrorism and other serious crimes. Although members wish to go further than what is provided for in the European Commission's proposal for a directive on a number of points regarding the treatment and storage of Passenger Name Records (PNR), on other points they would prefer to put a brake on ambitions.
Eva Lichtenberger (Greens/EFA, Austria) put forward a draft opinion (to the attention of the civil liberties, justice and home affairs committee) on the proposal for a directive on the use of PNR for the prevention and detection of terrorist offences. She recommends caution in order to guarantee protection of personal data and privacy, guarding against terrorism and crime without hampering mobility. She deplored the problems of terminology when it comes to the definition of crime, which differs from one state to the next. The Liberals and Conservatives wanted the definition to encompass drug trafficking and people smuggling. On the subject of the duration of data retention, Eva Lichtenberger suggested that the time that data can be retained should be reduced to 30 days (compared to five years in the Commission's proposal). This is a strong stance (which does not always find a positive echo within the transport committee) in order to obtain a satisfying compromise at a later date.
Lichtenberger called for coherence within member states while other MEPs, such as Mathieu Grosch (EPP, Belgium), also wanted consistency with international agreements. Silvia-Adriana Ticau (S&D, Romania) even spoke of ad hoc bilateral agreements.
Finally, the setting in place of an effective PNR system throughout the Union will not be without a certain cost. Lichtenberger and other MEPs were not delighted about this and called on the Commission for clarification regarding the cost and who should bear that cost. The Commission justified itself by announcing that there should be a €0.10 increase on every transport ticket. (Cor./transl.jl)