Although MEPs from the European Parliament's civil liberties committee (LIBE) had been summoned at the end of 2015 to accelerate the adoption of the European passenger name records (PNR) directive (which allows European airlines to collect the personal data of their travellers for counter-terrorism purposes), they have criticised the slow speed of member states to implement this arrangement – which finally entered into force on 24 May 2016.
During the European Commission's presentation of a report on implementation, the MEPs asked if the money set aside for the member states to implement their units for collecting and handling these data, as well as for exchange mechanisms with other member states, had been used correctly.
According to the Commission, at the end of 2016, only four member states had a PNR system that was operational (or nearly operational) and the legislative support to do this, 12 member states were at various stages of development of their PNR system, and the other 11 member states were still at a very early stage (Denmark is not taking part).
The Commission has thus far provided the member states with €51.8 million to set up these national files or to finance projects in connection with their implementation. It has also provided an additional envelope of €70 million.
Birgit Sippel MEP (S&D, Germany) is amazed at this slow pace and at the fact that the member states do not thus far seem to have done what is needed. Sophie in't Veld MEP (ALDE, Netherlands) has meanwhile asked how much money has been invested in the connectivity of member states' files, while Augustin Diaz de Mera MEP (EPP, Spain) says this directive should have been "a regulation". "We wouldn't have needed a plan for implementing the directive, and we wouldn't be here putting the countries into different groups", he said.
Although the European Parliament initially rejected the draft European PNR in 2013, it ended up having to give in, in 2015, to the different calls from heads of government to relaunch it – calls that were all the more pressing at the end of 2015 after the Paris terrorist attacks. However, at the end of 2016, the new commissioner for the security union, Sir Julian King, acknowledged both the technical and financial difficulties being faced. The member states have until May 2018 to keep their commitment of transposing the directive. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)