Switzerland has approved an agreement to share airline Passenger Name Record (PNR) data with other EU countries in the future in order to maintain internal security in the Schengen area, protect Switzerland as a business location, and foster police cooperation. The agreement’s negotiating mandate was approved by the Federal Council last Wednesday.
Passenger data, officially referred to as Passenger Name Records (PNR), is information provided by passengers to airlines or travel agents during the booking process, such as last name, first name, contact information, and itinerary. According to the Federal Council of Switzerland, using PRN data is a useful strategy in the fight against organised crime and cross-border terrorism.
Approximately 70 countries, including those in the EU, have implemented national PRN systems.
Without its own PNR system, Switzerland could become a security gap in Europe. This would allow people who use air travel to pursue criminal targets to circumvent the PNR systems of EU member states by flying to Switzerland and continuing their journey by land within the Schengen area.
According to the press release issued by the Federal Council, the EU Commission has already committed to negotiating mandates with Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland. However, the Federal Council notes that these negotiations don’t include talks held by Switzerland and the EU as part of the package approach.
The goals of the negotiating mandate with the EU on the exchange of information on PNR data are as follows:
- establish a legal foundation for Swiss airlines to transfer data to EU member states;
- ensuring that data from EU nations is delivered to Switzerland by airlines;
- with the EU to govern the collecting and use of PNR data in European airspace, as well as to ensure data security while processing PNR data.
In September 2023, the European Commission adopted recommendations for the Council to start negotiations with Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland for agreements on the transfer of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data.
The recommendations claim that the sharing of PNR data will support the relevant authorities in enhancing the identification, prosecution, and investigation of terrorist and criminal offenses.
Otherwise, the European Parliament and Council enacted a Directive on the use of passenger name record (PNR) data for the prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crimes, on April 27, 2016.
Additionally, a European Commission report states that PNR data has demonstrated efficacy in accomplishing its goals, which align with a general interest objective, namely, protect public security by ensuring the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of serious crime and terrorism in the Union’s area without internal borders.
