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Ministers are expected to discuss plans for a scheme to share airline passenger data at the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 24-25 June, with major obstacles standing in the way of agreement.
The French presidency of the EU has identified several outstanding issues in a document circulated to member states. These include differences of opinion on whether intra-EU flights should be covered by the scheme, as well as those in and out of the EU. Another is whether use of the data should be restricted to fighting terrorism and organised crime (as envisaged by the European Commission), or should also be allowed for combating other crimes like illegal immigration. Discussions are equally unresolved on whether authorities should be allowed to use sensitive data, such as data revealing racial or ethnic origin, or religious beliefs.
There is an additional disagreement between member states over the legal basis for the proposal, which France is proposing to deal with at “a later stage in the negotiations”.
The scheme, if created, would involve the collection and processing of passenger data contained in airline reservation systems. The UK is currently the only EU member state to have a national system in place, although France and Denmark plan to follow suit.