Agreement between the European Union and the United States of America on the processing and transfer of passenger name record (PNR) data by air carriers to the United States Department of Homeland Security
Date: 2006-10-19
Institutions: European Union, United States
Subjects: European Union, United States, agreement (EU), air transport, data processing, data transmission, personal data, public safety

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Note to the reader: ‘the language versions of the Agreement, other than the English language version, have
not yet been approved by the Parties. Once these other language versions have been approved, they will be
equally authentic’.

between the European Union and the United States of America on the processing and transfer of
passenger name record (PNR) data by air carriers to the United States Department of Homeland
Security

AGREEMENT

THE EUROPEAN UNION

and

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

DESIRING to prevent and combat terrorism and transnational crime effectively as a means of protecting their respective
democratic societies and common values,

RECOGNISING that, in order to safeguard public security and for law enforcement purposes, rules should be laid down
on the transfer of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data by air carriers to the Department of Homeland Security (hereinafter
DHS). For the purposes of this Agreement, DHS means the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, US Immigration
and Customs Enforcement and the Office of the Secretary and the entities that directly support it, but does not include
other components of DHS such as the Citizenship and Immigration Services, Transportation Security Administration,
United States Secret Service, the United States Coast Guard, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency,

RECOGNISING the importance of preventing and combating terrorism and related crimes, and other serious crimes that
are transnational in nature, including organised crime, while respecting fundamental rights and freedoms, notably privacy,

HAVING REGARD to US statutes and regulations requiring each air carrier operating passenger flights in foreign air
transportation to or from the United States to provide DHS with electronic access to PNR data to the extent that they are
collected and contained in the air carrier's automated reservation/departure control systems (hereinafter ‘reservation
systems’),

HAVING REGARD to Article 6(2) of the Treaty on European Union on respect for fundamental rights, and in particular
to the related right to the protection of personal data,

HAVING REGARD to relevant provisions of the Aviation Transportation Security Act of 2001, the Homeland Security
Act of 2002, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 and Executive Order 13388 regarding
cooperation between agencies of the United States Government in combating terrorism,

HAVING REGARD to the Undertakings as published in the US Federal Register (1) and implemented by DHS,

NOTING that the European Union should ensure that air carriers with reservation systems located within the European
Union arrange for transmission of PNR data to DHS as soon as this is technically feasible but that, until then, the US
authorities should be allowed to access the data directly, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement,

AFFIRMING that this Agreement does not constitute a precedent for any future discussions or negotiations between the
United States and the European Union, or between either of the Parties and any State regarding the processing and
transfer of PNR or any other form of data,

(1) Volume 69, No 131, p. 41543.

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HAVING REGARD to the commitment of both sides to work together to reach an appropriate and mutually satisfactory
solution, without delay, on the processing of Advance Passenger Information (API) data from the European Union to the
United States,

NOTING that in reliance on this Agreement, the EU confirms that it will not hinder the transfer of PNR data between
Canada and the United States and that the same principle will be applied in any similar agreement on the processing and
transfer of PNR data,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

(1)

In reliance upon DHS's continued implementation of the
aforementioned Undertakings as interpreted in the light of
subsequent events, the European Union shall ensure that
air carriers operating passenger flights in foreign air trans-
portation to or from the United States of America process
PNR data contained in their reservation systems as required
by DHS.

its Member States that requires air carriers to provide
authorities with access to PNR data for persons whose
travel itinerary includes a flight to or from the European
Union, DHS shall, in so far as practicable and strictly on
the basis of reciprocity, actively promote the cooperation
of airlines within its jurisdiction.

(2) Accordingly, DHS will electronically access the PNR data
from air carriers' reservation systems located within the
territory of
the Member States of the European Union
until there is a satisfactory system in place allowing for
transmission of such data by the air carriers.

(6)

For
the purpose of applying this Agreement, DHS is
deemed to ensure an adequate level of protection for
PNR data transferred from the European Union concerning
passenger flights in foreign air transportation to or from
the United States.

(3) DHS shall process PNR data received and treat data
subjects concerned by such processing in accordance
with applicable US laws and constitutional requirements,
without unlawful discrimination, in particular on the basis
of nationality and country of residence.

(4) The implementation of this Agreement shall be jointly and

regularly reviewed.

(5)

In the event that an airline passenger information system is
implemented in the European Union or in one or more of

that

they

indicating

notifications

(7) This Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of
the date on which the Parties have
the month after
exchanged
have
completed their internal procedures for this purpose. This
Agreement shall apply provisionally as of
the date of
signature. Either Party may terminate or suspend this
Agreement at any time by notification through diplomatic
channels. Termination shall
thirty (30) days
from the date of notification thereof to the other Party.
This Agreement shall expire upon the date of application
of any superseding agreement and in any event no later
than 31 July 2007, unless extended by mutual written
agreement.

take effect

This Agreement is not intended to derogate from or amend legislation of the United States of
America or the European Union or its Member States. This Agreement does not create or
confer any right or benefit on any other person or entity, private or public.

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This Agreement shall be drawn up in duplicate in the English language. It shall also be drawn
up in the Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian,
Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish
languages, and the Parties shall approve these language versions. Once approved,
the
versions in these languages shall be equally authentic.

Done at Luxembourg on 16 October 2006 and at Washington D.C. on 19 October 2006.

For the European Union

For the United States of America

E. TUOMIOJA

Minister for Foreign Affairs

President of the Council of the European Union

Secretary Michael CHERTOFF

Department of Homeland Security