Press Release Summary: European Union countries would hold sensitive information about all passengers entering and leaving the EU on flights under proposals unveiled on Tuesday to toughen terror legislation across the 27-member bloc.
Press Release Body: EU Justice commissioner Franco Frattini wants all air carriers to give passenger details to the national authorities of member states when arriving or departing from non-EU countries, similar to the controversial Passenger Name Record (PNR) system used by the United States. EDITOR'S CHOICE News in depth: terrorism and global security - Jul-30 Madrid jihadist bombers jailed - Nov-01 Al-Qaeda suspect to face London court - Sep-19
Announcing four key anti-terror proposals in Brussels the commissioner said: "National policies are not enough. We have to step up the capability of the European Union to protect its citizens."
The commission wants to harmonise and toughen anti-terrorism measures across the EU, making incitement to terrorism, the training of terrorists, and the use of the internet by terrorists a punishable offence.
"We cannot be complacent, we have to continue striking the right balance between being aware of the threat and taking adequate and proportionate measures, both at European and national level, to prevent it," the commissioner said.
In the lastest anti-terror operation on the continent, Italian police said 20 people were arrested across Europe on Tuesday in an anti-terrorist operation led by Italian authorities. Separately, the British government announced plans to toughen its domestic anti-terror legislation.
As well as the terrorist attacks in Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005, terrorist plots have been foiled in Germany, Austria, Denmark, and France. According to the commission, eleven member states were targeted by terrorist groups in 2006, and there were 80 specific terrorist plots. More than 300 terrorist cells are under investigation.
"The monitoring of travel is one of the points of weakness in our strategy to counter terrorism. Terrorists travel before and after they commit terrorist attacks. In my view the time has come to deal with the security of our citizens," the Commissioner said.
Air carriers already capture PNR data for commercial purposes. Now they could be legally obliged to hand over 19 pieces of PNR information, such as the name, address, passport number, travel agent, credit card number, and history of changes in the flight schedule of the passenger, to national authorities.
This data would be retained for up to thirteen years and be shared between EU member states, who can then identify people who will be subjected to further enquiries upon their arrival or departure in a member state.
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