EU: Casting the PNR net wider: Dutch delegation offers recommendations for customs authorities
13 March 2017
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EU
Casting the PNR net wider: Netherlands offers recommendations for customs authorities
13.3.17
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An updated paper produced by the Dutch delegation to the Council of the EU's Customs Cooperation Working Party offers a series of recommendations on how national customs authorities can make use of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data, due to be gathered and analysed by law enforcement authorities across the EU according to the April 2016 PNR Directive.
See: NOTE from: Dutch delegation to: Customs Cooperation Working Party: Common non-paper on the value of PNR for Customs law enforcement and risk management in light of the new PNR Directive(14785/3/16 REV 3, 31 January 2017, LIMITE, pdf)
"This document describes the value of PNR data in relation to the management of day to day passengers controls by customs in light of the new PNR Directive.
The document aims to support Customs Administrations in the Member States in the national implementation of the Directive by highlighting the added value of customs as part of the PIU. Additionally the document provides options and best practices for integrating this expertise in operational customs requirements into PIUs."
The paper notes:
"In a report published on 12 October 201618, the Commission states that progress on the implementation of the EU PNR Directive risks being undermined by the lack of processing capacity in the majority of Member States for the data collected. So far, only one Member State (the United Kingdom) has set up a fully functioning PIU, two more Member States (France and Hungary) should achieve this by the end of 2016, and others have projects underway. However, on the basis of information provided by Member States to the Commission, eleven Member States have yet to start the work. The Commission stands ready to provide further legal assistance, expertise and financial support to achieve this.
Because work is still underway in many countries, it is an opportune moment for customs authorities to cooperate and collaborate with other authorities for implementing the PIU, either by participating in the PIU or maintaining close relations to it as a competent authority."
Background and further reading
- PNR: €70 million for swift implementation of travel surveillance and profiling infrastructure, Statewatch News Online, 21 December 2016
- API, PNR, threat assessments, and data-mining: Member States push for access to travellers' personal data for customs authorities, Statewatch News Online, February 2013
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