Policy Observatory

On Wednesday, the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE) adopted the EU Passenger Name Records (EU-PNR) directive proposal, presented by Rapporteur Timothy Kirkhope, a conservative MEP from the UK.

The EU-PNR directive would establish the systematic collection, retention, and analysis of passenger data for everyone flying into or leaving the EU. Passenger data contains a plethora of personal information, such as passengers’ personal and contact details, itinerary, payment methods, and sometimes even car and hotel bookings.

On 19 October, the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) voted on the proposed e-Privacy Regulation. With 31 votes the Committee voted in favour of measures defending privacy, security and competition for phone and internet services. The 31 MEPs in favour of the e-Privacy Regulation belong to the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group (ALDE), the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD), the European United Left-Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL), the Non-Inscrits (NI), the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and the Greens–European Free Alliance (Verts/ALE).

On 19 October, the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) voted on the proposed e-Privacy Regulation. The Committee voted in favour of measures defending privacy, security and competition for phone and internet services. Despite a huge lobbying effort to water down the proposal, the Committee voted for clear, privacy-friendly rules.