According to a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), the processing of passenger data by EU countries must be limited to what is absolutely necessary for the fight against terrorism.

In addition, the European Supreme Court made it clear in a judgment today that the processing of data on flights within the EU violates EU law, provided there is no terrorist threat. The PNR Directive (Passenger Name Record) provides for the systematic processing of large numbers of passenger data when crossing an external EU border. This is intended to prevent and detect terrorist offenses and other serious crimes.

Expansion of the system feared

The Belgian NGO League for Human Rights complained about how Belgium implements the rules. Among other things, she sees the right to respect for private life and the protection of personal data as being violated. In addition, the extension of the system to flights within the EU and to transport by means of transport other than air would indirectly reintroduce border controls.

According to Belgian law, airline, train, bus, ferry and travel companies are obliged to pass on the data of their passengers who are traveling across national borders to a central office in which, among other things, the police and secret services are represented.