EU-Canada PNR agreement: Commission statement on the Opinion of the European Court of Justice

Commissioner for Security Union, Julian King i, said:

"The European Commission takes note of the Opinion of the European Court of Justice on the envisaged EU-Canada PNR agreement. The European Commission will now carefully assess the Opinion and its potential impact.

We stand ready to engage with Canada about ways of addressing the concerns raised by the European Court of Justice on the envisaged EU-Canada PNR Agreement.

Exchanges of information such as PNR are critical for the security of our citizens, and the European Commission i will do what is necessary to ensure they can continue in accordance with the Court's Opinion and in full respect of fundamental rights and in particular the right to data protection."

Background

The envisaged EU-Canada PNR Agreement aims to regulate the transfer and processing of passenger name record data to Canada for the purpose of combatting terrorism and other serious transnational crime under certain conditions and according to data protection safeguards.

Today's Opinion concerns the compatibility of the envisaged EU-Canada Agreement on the transfer and processing of passenger name record data (PNR Agreement) with the Treaty and the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

The Court considers that the envisaged Agreement in its current state cannot be concluded by the Union as some of its provisions must be modified.

The Commission will analyse the Opinion very carefully and stands ready to engage with Canada to address the concerns raised by the European Court of Justice on the envisaged PNR Agreement.

While the Opinion of the Court formally only concerns the envisaged PNR agreement with Canada, the Commission will work closely with its other international partners to ensure compliance of data transfers to non-EU countries with the Court's Opinion, the Treaty and the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

STATEMENT/17/2105