On Thursday, June 28, 2007, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael
Chertoff, German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble and EU Commissioner Franco
Frattini initialed an international agreement between the
United States and the European Union on the
transfer of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data to the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) from air carriers operating transatlantic flights to and from
the
U.S.
Secretary Chertoff issued the following statement about the agreement:
"I am pleased that we have been able to reach an agreement that
satisfies both the
U.S. and
EU's core goals, ensuring that all passengers traveling to the
U.S.
will be protected against terrorist and serious transnational criminal threats,
while also protecting their personal information. Passenger Name Record data is
a proven tool for combating terrorism and serious transnational crime,
providing the U.S. with the means to make connections between known threats and
associates and identify patterns of concerning activity. We have used this data
in the
U.S.
to identify terrorist cells, dismantle human trafficking rings and arrest drug
smugglers, among other successes.
Further, our agreement ensures that PNR data is not used or shared for
purposes other than for which it is collected. DHS and the EU have agreed to
revise the list of data that may be collected, while retaining the flexibility
to ensure sufficient data is collected to address current and future threats.
We have modified the types of data collected, and will continue to gather only
information already provided by travelers to make flight reservations. This
information has proven necessary in concluding numerous investigations, and
continued access will be invaluable in the fight against terrorism and
successfully protecting our borders by keeping dangerous people from boarding
planes and entering the
U.S."
