Brussels, 10/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 9 March, Sophie in't Veld MEP (ALDE, Netherlands) sent a letter to the Greek Home Secretary, Dimitris Avramopoulos, asking him to explain the forthcoming collection of Passenger Name Records (PNR) data by the Mexican authorities from airlines operating on Mexican soil.
No international agreement exists between the EU and Mexico regarding this transfer of airline passenger data, which could be illegal but the Mexican authorities are, nonetheless, threatening airlines with fines that could be as high as €30,000 if they do not comply.
The Liberal MEP is therefore calling on the European Commission to explain what it intends to do with regard to Mexico and whether it intends to extend 1 April deadline. Argentina has also asked European companies to provide it with PNR data.
Mexico adopted its legislation in this connection in 2012 but delayed the deadline incumbent on the airlines on three different occasions according to Statewatch, which highlights documents from Spain that were sent to the Council. According to these documents, Spain has requested an urgent response to this issue. In 't Veld would also like to know how the Commission intends to respond to requests from other non-EU countries to access PNR data, such as Russia, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates. She would also like the Commission to provide her with a clear explanation as to what the legal situation in force will be after 1 April. (Solenn Paulic)