Greece Called to Apply EU’s New PNR Rules for Travelers

The European Commission on Thursday called on Greece and 13 other EU member states to apply the new PNR (Passenger Name Record) rules, which require travelers to provide detailed personal information ahead of travel.

Member States had until May 25, 2018, to transpose the European Parliament and Council PNR Directive into national law.

The Commission sent letters of formal notice to Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain for failing to communicate the adoption of national legislation which fully transposes the PNR Directive (Directive 2016/681).

PNR data refer to information provided by passengers to airlines when booking and checking-in for flights. Such data may include information such as the passenger’s name, travel dates, travel itineraries, seat number, baggage, contact details and means of payment.

The Directive requires the member states to set up a national system for the collection, analysis and exchange of PNR data for law enforcement purposes, in full respect of data protection safeguards.

The Member States concerned now have two months to reply to the letter of formal notice.

According to the Commission, the processing of PNR data is an important tool for fighting terrorism and serious crime, helping to trace suspicious travel patterns and identify potential criminals and terrorists, including those previously unknown to law-enforcement authorities.

In relevant news, the Commission also called on Greece and another 16 Member States to implement the Directive on non-EU students and researchers. The 17 member states failed to communicate national legislation which fully transposes the Directive on the conditions of entry, residence and intra-EU mobility of non EU-nationals for the purposes of research, studies, training, voluntary service, pupil exchange schemes or educational projects, and au pairing (Directive 2016/801).