Passenger data exchange ‘needed to fight terrorism’ - Kirkhope

Timothy Kirkhope warned that criminals and terrorists would be able to exploit gaps in the rules on passenger data applied by different countries unless the EU took action as a whole.

He is pressing for MEPs to take a fresh look at a proposed EU directive on the issue which was narrowly rejected by the European Parliament last year but is backed by European Governments.

It has been given fresh impetus as a number of European countries, including the UK, deal with the issue of citizens returning after fighting in the Middle East and posing a terrorist threat at home.

Mr Kirkhope told a meeting of the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee that airline passenger information, known as passenger name record (PNR) data had been shown to be a useful tool in combatting crime and terrorism.

He said: “PNR data has proven crucial in exposing the intentionally complex routes of those EU citizens travelling to Syria and Iraq, in order to fight and train with the plan of returning to Europe. With the help of PNR, it has been possible to identify the routes and, and with assistance from another Member State’s authorities, prevent individuals from reaching their intended destination.

“Movement searches through PNR have also helped identified a subject arrested for attempting to incite a 12 year old child to commit a sexual act, including indecent images of children in that location at the time of the offence. It has also identified other flights to countries where child abuse offences are prevalent.”

He added: “I am not here today to say that PNR is a silver bullet in the fight against all crime and terrorism, but it is a valuable piece of a very important jigsaw which protects the lives and safety of EU citizens.”

Mr Kirkhope argued that while 15 countries are building PNR systems, Europe-wide standards are needed to make sure the information is used effectively and to protect individual rights.

But other members of the committee made clear they have concerns about moves to share passenger data and, in particular, about the way it might be retained by the police and security services.

Dutch MEP Sophia in’t Veld said: “The justification for this directive seems to to be a moving target. One moment it is fighting terrorism, then it is fighting sexual exploitation, trhen it is public health then we are back to terrorism, jihadi fighters travelling to Syria.”

She said there was nothing to stop member states setting up their own PNR systems but an EU directive could force countries who were unwilling to do so.