de Brún welcomes ruling on Passenger Name Records
Sinn Féin MEP Bairbre de Brún has welcomed the European Court of Justice ruling
on passenger name records following the European Parliament's legal challenge
to the EU-US agreement on transfer of data on air passengers.
Ms
de Brún said:
"We have consistently opposed the transfer of
data on air passengers, viewing this as an infringement of rights and civil
liberties.
"While we would have liked to see the Court of Justice
strike down the agreement on these grounds, we welcome the decision of the
court to annul the agreement on the ground that Article 95 EC does not
constitute an appropriate legal basis for the agreement."
Editors
Note:
The agreement decided that air carriers operating flights to,
from or across United States territory had to provide the United States
authorities with electronic access to the data contained in their
reservation and departure control systems, called "Passenger Name Records".
ENDS
Airlines face the prospect of fines of 6,000 per passenger
as well as the potential loss of landing rights in the US if they fail to
provide US security agencies with the data 15 minutes before the flight's
departure.