Brussels, 23/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 23 June in Luxembourg, the Council of the EU adopted, without debate, the draft mandate submitted on 13 May last by the European Commission, to open negotiations with Mexico for an agreement on transferring PNR data for European airline passengers. This agreement is a condition emphasised by the Mexican authorities to prevent financial penalties on European airlines operating in Mexico being imposed (see EUROPE 11296).
Mexico has been requesting such an agreement for the past two years and is threatening to impose fines that could be as much as €30,000 per flight. The authorities sent the EU an ultimatum on 1 July. On this date, the Council will be called on to allow the Commission to negotiate this PNR agreement to avoid financial penalties being activated. The Commission is expected to be able to begin these discussions to obtain this adoption at the Council. No agreement will be able to be finalised before a ruling from the European Court of Justice on the PNR agreement between the EU and Canada, warned the Commission. The EP has contested the legality of this agreement. The EU already has PNR agreements with the US, Canada and Australia, as well as other interested countries, such as Russia and South Korea. The European Parliament will have to validate this final agreement but certain MEPs at the S&D and GUE/NGL have already expressed their reservations. (Solenn Paulic)