Brussels, 6 September 2023
The European Commission has adopted today Recommendations to the Council for the opening of negotiations with Switzerland, Iceland, and Norway for agreements on the transfer of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data.
The transfer of PNR data is key in allowing authorities to strengthen the detection, prosecution, and investigation of terrorist and serious criminal offences. The agreements will set out the conditions for the transfer of PNR data to the authorities of those countries, in full respect of data protection safeguards and fundamental rights.
Opening negotiations with Switzerland, Iceland, and Norway on PNR is an important step forward to increase security in the Schengen area, in line with the Commission’s PNR policy, which builds on international standards and addresses global security commitments. A review report published on 24 July 2020 showed that the PNR data has delivered concrete results in the fight against terrorism and serious crimes, such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, child sexual abuse, child abduction and participation in organised crime groups.
Source – EU Commission