Whilst the European Parliament's rapporteur on the draft PNR (passenger name records) agreement between the EU and Canada, Sophie in't Veld (ALDE, Netherlands), on Wednesday 26 July welcomed the court judgment on this subject (see EUROPE 11837), noting that it would have an effect on all other agreements of this kind with third countries, the EPP group in Parliament has interpreted it to mean that the Court of Justice has in fact supported the existence in principle of a data exchange programme of this kind.
“I am satisfied with the court's conclusion that the agreement proposed with Canada is theoretically compatible with EU law on the transfer PNR data and the retention of all data”, said Axel Voss (EPP, Germany). This approach constitutes an important mechanism in fighting terrorism and major crime.
“We have always said that PNR data could never be decisive in criminal investigations, but must in all cases be used in conjunction with other observations”, he said. And “as regards the fight against terrorism, protecting the data of all citizens is less important than protecting the individual”, he concluded.
According to Jan Philipp Albrecht (Greens/EFA, Germany), Parliament's rapporteur on the protection of personal data, the main finding of this judgment is that all agreements of this kind must now be revised, particularly those concluded with the United States and Australia, along with the most recent legislation adopted that includes data collection systems. It is very clear that the court does not accept the system of keeping data for five years, the MEP stressed. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)