On 14 December 2011, in Brussels, the European Union and the United States of America signed the Agreement on the use and transfer of passenger name records to the United States Department of Homeland Security. Two originals. Pursuant to EU law, the Agreement is also drawn up by the EU in the other official languages of the Union. Official Journal L 215, 11 August 2012, pp. 5–14. Article 27(2): as of the date of its entry into force, it supersedes the agreement signed at Brussels and Washington on 23 and 26 July 2007.

Article 1: the purpose is to ensure security and to protect the life and safety of the public; the Agreement sets out the conditions under which PNR may be transferred, processed, used and protected. Article 2: PNR, as set forth in the ICAO Guidelines, means the record created by air carriers or their authorised agents for each journey booked by or on behalf of any passenger and contained in reservation or departure-control systems. It applies to passenger flights between the European Union and the United States, and to carriers incorporated or storing data in the EU and operating passenger flights to or from the United States.

Article 3: carriers shall provide to DHS PNR contained in their reservation systems, as required by DHS standards and consistent with the Agreement; data beyond those listed in the Annex shall be deleted upon receipt. Article 4(1): the United States collects, uses and processes PNR for preventing, detecting, investigating and prosecuting terrorist offences and related crimes, and other crimes that are punishable by imprisonment of three years or more and that are transnational in nature. This is a legal framework, not an operational catalogue of data fields.

Article 6: sensitive data (racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, health, sex life, among others) shall be filtered; further processing is exceptional, case by case. Article 7: the United States shall not make decisions that produce significant adverse actions affecting the legal interests of individuals based solely on automated processing of PNR. Article 8: retention in an active database for up to five years, with depersonalisation after six months; then a dormant database for up to ten years, under additional controls; thereafter, full anonymisation. Articles 12–13: any individual, regardless of nationality, may seek correction and effective administrative and judicial redress under US law.

Article 15: carriers shall transfer PNR using the “push” method, rather than systematic DHS access into reservation systems; all carriers shall acquire the technical ability to use push not later than 24 months after entry into force. Article 19: in consideration of the Agreement, DHS shall be deemed to provide an adequate level of protection within the meaning of relevant EU data-protection law. Article 23: joint review one year after entry into force; joint evaluation after four years. Article 26: the Agreement remains in force for seven years from entry into force, renewable, unless a Party gives twelve months’ notice of intention not to renew.

Article 27(1): the Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the month after the Parties have exchanged notifications that they have completed their internal procedures. Entry into force: 1 July 2012 (OJ L 174, 4 July 2012). Article 27(3): Denmark, the United Kingdom or Ireland only if the Commission notifies the United States that the relevant State has chosen to be bound. The European Parliament gave its consent in April 2012, after signature.

The Berlaymont, Brussels, the European Commission’s headquarters in the European quarter, the city of signature, not the signing room. Wikimedia Commons, free licence.

For context: United States–European Union Agreement on Passenger Name Records. The text: OJ L 215, 11.8.2012, p. 5–14.