Directive 2016/681 - Use of passenger name record (PNR) data for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime

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1.

Current status

This directive has been published on May  4, 2016, entered into force on May 24, 2016 and should have been implemented in national regulation on May 25, 2018 at the latest.

2.

Key information

official title

Directive (EU) 2016/681 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the use of passenger name record (PNR) data for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime
 
Legal instrument Directive
Number legal act Directive 2016/681
Original proposal COM(2011)32 EN
CELEX number i 32016L0681

3.

Key dates

Document 27-04-2016; Date of signature
Publication in Official Journal 04-05-2016; OJ L 119 p. 132-149
Signature 27-04-2016
Effect 24-05-2016; Entry into force Date pub. +20 See Art 22
Deadline 25-05-2020; Review See Art 19
End of validity 31-12-9999
Transposition 25-05-2018; See Art 18.1

4.

Legislative text

4.5.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 119/132

 

DIRECTIVE (EU) 2016/681 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 27 April 2016

on the use of passenger name record (PNR) data for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular point (d) of Article 82(1) and point (a) of Article 87(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1),

After consulting the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (2),

Whereas:

 

(1)

On 6 November 2007 the Commission adopted a proposal for a Council Framework Decision on the use of passenger name record (PNR) data for law enforcement purposes. However, upon entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009, the Commission proposal, which had not been adopted by the Council by that date, became obsolete.

 

(2)

The ‘Stockholm Programme — An open and secure Europe serving and protecting the citizens’ (3) calls on the Commission to present a proposal for the use of PNR data to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute terrorism and serious crime.

 

(3)

In its Communication of 21 September 2010‘On the global approach to transfers of passenger name record (PNR) data to third countries’, the Commission outlined a number of core elements of a Union policy in this area.

 

(4)

Council Directive 2004/82/EC (4) regulates the transfer of advance passenger information (API) data by air carriers to the competent national authorities for the purpose of improving border controls and combating illegal immigration.

 

(5)

The objectives of this Directive are, inter alia, to ensure security, to protect the life and safety of persons, and to create a legal framework for the protection of PNR data with regard to their processing by competent authorities.

 

(6)

Effective use of PNR data, for example by comparing PNR data against various databases on persons and objects sought, is necessary to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute terrorist offences and serious crime and thus enhance internal security, to gather evidence and, where relevant, to find associates of criminals and unravel criminal networks.

 

(7)

Assessment of PNR data allows identification of persons who were unsuspected of involvement in terrorist offences or serious crime prior to such an assessment and who should be subject to further examination by the competent authorities. By using PNR data it is possible to address the threat of terrorist offences and serious crime from a different perspective than through the processing of other categories of personal data. However, to ensure that the processing of PNR data remains limited to what is necessary, the creation and application of assessment criteria should be limited to terrorist offences and serious crime for which the use of such criteria is relevant. Furthermore, the assessment criteria should be defined in a manner which keeps to a minimum the number of innocent people wrongly identified by the system.

 

(8)

Air carriers already collect and process their passengers' PNR data for their own commercial purposes. This Directive should not impose any obligation on air carriers to collect or retain any additional data from passengers or any obligation on passengers to provide any data in addition to that already being provided to air carriers.

 

(9)

Some air carriers retain as part of the PNR data the API...


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This text has been adopted from EUR-Lex.

5.

Original proposal

 

6.

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