The European parliament's committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs is preparing to vote on a proposal by MEP Johanna Boogerd-Quaak to reject the draft decision of the EU Commission under which airline passenger data are transferred to the US Bureau of Customs and Border Protection.

The proposal calls upon EU Member States to require airlines and travel agencies to obtain passengers' consent for the transfer of data and asks the EU commission to withdraw the draft decision which is the current 'legal' basis for the transfer of data.

The proposal calls the draft decision "contradictory, since it fails to take into account the CAPPS II system (which involves the systematic assessment of all passengers by means including recourse to private information services) but at the same time it authorises the use of personal data for the test stage of the system, despite the withholding of funding by Congress, which expressed reservations which Parliament can only share." The proposal also criticizes the Commission's decision because it goes 'against the principles of proportionality and of data quality' and "does not grant all passengers the protection which is afforded to US citizens."

If the proposal is adopted the EU Parliament will consult the European Court of Justice to examine if an international agreement which does not provide adequate guarantees regarding the protection of a fundamental right is soundly based.

Motion for a resolution on the draft Commission decision noting the adequate level of protection provided for personal data contained in the Passenger Name Records (PNRs) transferred to the US Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (17.02.2004)
http://www.europarl.eu.int/meetdocs/committees/libe/20040309/524914en....