European Council Agrees To Transfer Air Passenger Data To Canada

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

20 July 2005

The European Commission has announced that it welcomes the decision reached at Monday’s meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) to sign an agreement with Canada on airline passenger data.

When the agreement enters into force, airlines flying from the EU to Canada will transfer selected passenger data to the Canadian authorities to help identify passengers who could be a security, and in particular a terrorist threat.

The EC stated that the agreement strikes a good balance between security requirements and the data protection standards required under EU law, thus making an important contribution to the fight against terrorism.

Speaking following the announcement, Commission Vice-President Franco Frattini welcomed the result.

“It is important that we show the world we are united in our fight against terrorism. This fight not only means we have to work together closely with our partners outside the EU, but also that we are able to maintain our human rights standards which form such a crucial part of our societies. The EU will continue to play its full part in securing data protection standards while at the same time stepping up joint action against terrorism.”

Under the terms of the agreement, data will be transferred by the so-called “push” system, rather than the more intrusive “pull” system temporarily in use with the US. Signature and entry into force of the Agreement will follow in early autumn 2005.

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