Brussels, 19/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - MEPs meeting in Strasbourg gave their definitive assent, on Thursday, to the agreement on the transfer of passenger information, negotiated over several years with the United States - the famous PNR agreement which, after final, formal approval by ministers meeting in Luxembourg on 26 April will come into effect for a period of seven years. The agreement, which had already found approval in the European Parliament (EP) civil liberties committee (LIBE) on 27 March, was passed in plenary session by 409 votes to 226, with 33 abstentions, against the recommendation of rapporteur Sophie in 't Veld (ALDE, Netherlands), who distanced herself from the outcome of the vote.
In 't Veld has been calling on her colleagues since the start of February to reject the deal negotiated with the United States, but failed to persuade the LIBE committee which overturned the message of her report. With the report now calling for EP ratification of the agreement with Washington, the Dutch MEP logically asked for her name to be removed from the report on Thursday.
The United States welcomed the Parliament vote. US Ambassador to the EU William E. Kennard said that the agreement will guarantee “passenger security” and demonstrates the joint commitment of the two parties, the EU and the US, to “protect” their citizens, he said in a press release.
The EPP and ECR Groups, which backed the agreement, also took the view that a major step had been taken on Thursday. Axel Voss (EPP, Germany) hailed victory for common sense and congratulated the United States on the concessions they made. He noted, however, that the agreement did not fully reflect the European position.
And it was exactly for that reason that in 't Veld reproached her colleague after the vote, that they had passed a text simply for want of anything better. At a press conference, she wondered why the EP had thrown out previous PNR agreements with the United States, in 2007 and again in May 2010, and had even referred the matter to the Court of Justice of the EU, for it then to accept an “even worse agreement”.
Highlighting the various pressures from across the Atlantic brought to bear on MEPs so that they would pass the agreement, in 't Veld again argued that the text does not comply with European law or with data protection standards. She is critical of the length of time that information can be retained, (up to 15 years for terrorist offences), its scope being too wide and its covering too many types of crime. She regretted, generally, that the need for such agreements had not been more clearly demonstrated.
The Greens/EFA Group took the same line, stating after the vote that European law had been dealt a blow. “The decision taken today by the Conservatives and Social Democrats to vote for the agreement ... is another step towards a police state”, said Jan-Philip Albrecht (Germany). For the first time in ten years, the European Parliament had the opportunity to halt profiling and long-term unjustified retention of information on all passengers travelling to the United States, but a majority in the House chose to let that chance slip, he regretted.
Under the terms of the new agreement, the US authorities will be able to hold European passengers' PNR data for the purposes of combating terrorism and organised crime in active databases for up to five years; the information may then be stored in “dormant” databases for up to 15 years in cases of crimes associated with terrorism. After the first six months, all information which may serve to identify the passenger must be “depersonalised”, which means that information, such as names and contact details, will be obscured.
Sensitive information, such as ethnic origin, religious beliefs and sexual orientation, could be used in exceptional circumstances, for example, when someone's life is in danger. Access will be on a strictly case-by-case basis, and the information is to be permanently erased within 30 days of receipt, unless it is being used in a specific investigation. The agreement also allows European citizens to lodge administrative and legal appeals, if the information is misused by the US Department of Homeland Security, but only in line with their rights under US law. Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said in a press release that the agreement passed in Strasbourg on Thursday is a big improvement on previous agreements. She felt that the agreement is a “substantial improvement” on the 2004 version and the one, dating from 2007, which is in force at present. (SP/transl.rt)