EU Working Party's opinion on the transmission of airlines' passenger data in Canada
posted by:Rafal Morek // 12:06 PM // February 04, 2005 //
A few days ago, the EU Working Party on the Protection of Individuals with regard to the Processing of Personal Data issued its opinion on the level of protection ensured in Canada for the transmission of Passenger Name Record (PNR) and Advance Passenger Information (API) from airlines .
The Working Party confirmed that Canada ensures an adequate level of protection within the meaning of Article 25(6) of the Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of API and PNR transferred from airlines to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
The API/PNR program is designed to enable the CBSA to perform a risk assessment of travellers prior to their arrival in Canada. API/PNR data is used by the CBSA to identify persons who may be subject to closer questioning or examination on arrival in Canada because of their potential relationship to terrorism or terrorism-related crimes, or other serious crimes such as the smuggling of drugs and humans.
The opinion followed negotiations between the European Commission and Canada concerning improvement of protection ensured in Canada for the transmission PNR and API, and new commitments recently adopted by the CBSA.
