Passenger name record (PNR) data is personal information provided by passengers and collected and held by air carriers. It includes information such as the name of passengers, travel dates, itineraries, seats, baggage, contact details and means of payment. The proposal for a directive, presented by the Commission, aims at regulating the transfer of such PNR data to member states’ law enforcement authorities and their processing for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime.
The European Parliament and the Council agreed on a compromise text in December 2015. On 14 April 2016, the European Parliament adopted its position. The Council then adopted the directive on 21 April 2016. Member states will have two years to bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this directive.
After a five years long series of delays and setbacks the new directive regulating the use of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data in the EU for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime was approved by the Parliament on Thursday 14 April.
Despite strong criticism from the left side, the issue was pushed to the top of the Parliament’s agenda following the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels. In fact, some objections were moved, especially the Greens and the Liberals, concerning the fact that each country will keep control of its own database, the vague nature of data collected and the length of time passenger information may be stored.
Although there was little suspense regarding the positive outcome of the vote, a number of MEPs, such as the Dutch Liberal Sophie in’t Veld, tried to derail the PNR dossier by tabling amendments that would change the essence of the compromise. At the end, the text was approved by MEPs for 461 votes to 179, with 9 abstentions.
The Greens have consistently criticized the proposed system, which, according to them, will fail to address the terrorist threat, whilst undermining the fundamental lights of EU citizens. After the vote, Green MEP and home affairs spokesperson Jan Philipp Albrecht said:
« This EU PNR system is a false solution, based on the flawed political obsession with mass surveillance. PNR is a placebo at best, which will not only undermine the fundamental rights of EU citizens but also undermine the security of our societies by diverting badly-needed resources from security and intelligence tools that could actually be useful for combating terrorism, like targeted surveillance.”
Despite all the negative evaluations, British conservative and PNR rapporteur, Timothy Kirkhope said: “There were understandable concerns about the collection and storage or people’s data, but I believe that the directive puts in place data safeguards, as well as proving that the law is proportionate to the risks we face. EU governments must now get on with implementing this agreement »
French Home Affairs Minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, who had been fighting intensively for the adoption of this system since the Paris attacks of January 2015 and the attacks of November, welcomed the outcome and this “vital step in stepping up the fight against terrorism in Europe”.
Under the new directive, air carriers will be obliged to provide member states’ authorities with the PNR data for flights entering or departing from the EU. It will also allow, but not oblige, member states to collect PNR data concerning selected intra-EU flights. However, considering the current security situation in Europe, all member states declared that by the date of transposition of the directive they will make full use of the possibility provided for by Article 2 which states that selected intra-EU flights could be included.
Thus, under the new rules, each member state will also be required to set up a so-called Passenger Information Unit (PIU’s), which will receive the PNR data from the air carriers.
The new rules create an EU standard for the use of such data and include provisions on:
Member states could then extend the directive to “intra-EU” flights (i.e. from an EU country to one or more other EU countries), if they notify it to the EU Commission. EU countries may also choose to collect and process PNR data from travel agencies and tour operators (non-carrier economic operators), as they also manage flight bookings.
There will be also guaranties applied to safeguard data protection:
Under the new directive, air carriers will be obliged to provide member states’ authorities with the PNR data for flights entering or departing from the EU. Member states will have two years to incorporate the text into national law but at least 16 States already have a national PNR system.
Elena Dal Monte
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Cartoon: The New York Times
By Amitava Kar
Apr 28 2016 (The Daily Star, Bangladesh)
“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society,” said Mark Twain. In fewer places than Myanmar has the saying held truer where clothed men—uniformed to be more precise—have had all the influence for more than 50 years.
That’s changing with Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy winning a decisive majority in the November 2015 elections. She is sending a clear message to the generals: civilians are going to call the shots from now on and she will be in charge.
Barred from becoming president by the military-drafted 2008 constitution “for the good of the mother country”, she assumed three key positions in the government to fortify her leadership—“State Counsellor”, foreign minister and minister in the president’s office. The combination of jobs will allow her to oversee the president’s office, shape foreign policy and coordinate decision-making between the executive branch and the parliament.
Things have started moving. As “State Counsellor”, she bypassed the military-controlled Ministry of Home Affairs and used legal processes to release students who had been jailed last year for protesting the new education reform law. In her first meeting as foreign minister with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, she made it clear that Beijing would have to pursue its interests in Myanmar with her rather than through the Army, as had been the case in the past.
Military members of the parliament denounced the moves as “democratic bullying”. At a parade last month, Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, reminded citizens that “the Army ensures the stability of the country” and “has to be present in a leading role in national politics”. The four-star general, despite reaching the retirement age of 60, will see his term extended for another five years, according to Wall Street Journal. He is in no hurry for the Army to step back from politics.
Suu Kyi cannot send the generals, who kept her under house arrest for 15 years, back to the barracks overnight. They still control three important ministries—home affairs, defence and border affairs. The first allows them to control the state’s administrative apparatus, right down to the grassroots level. Through these centres of power, it dominates the National Defence and Security Council which can dissolve parliament and impose martial law. Amending the constitution remains impossible as it requires a majority exceeding 75 percent in the parliament. Since the army has 25 percent seats reserved by law, it holds a perpetual veto.
The task ahead is daunting. In most key human development indicators, her country sits at the bottom of the pit in Southeast Asia. The new government inherits high inflation, large budget and current-account deficits, an unstable exchange rate and institutions ossified by decades of corruption and authoritarian rule. FDI rose to over USD 8 billion during the last fiscal year, but much of that money remains concentrated in the country’s jade, oil and gas industries—tied to former generals. And as the country opens up further, it is the urban “elites” and big corporations under the control of armed forces that are likely to benefit most from increased liquidity while people in rural and ethnically segregated live in extreme poverty, without basic physical or financial infrastructure.
Other priorities include reaching lasting peace with ethnic minorities along the country’s borders some of whom have been fighting the central government for decades and put an end to laws that have been used to stifle dissent. Most important of all is to redress the vicious persecution of hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingyas who have been made stateless by a 1982 law and have been languishing in squalid camps or confined to their villages while thousands more have fled the country, many into the hands of human traffickers. Suu Kyi has to find a way to quash the Anti-Islamic sentiment violently stirred-up among the near 70 percent Bamar population in part by the 969 movement initiated by radical Buddhist monk Wirathu.
Myanmar’s new government will also have to tackle land rights: confusing and poorly enforced laws leave rural farmers vulnerable to confiscation. The NLD’s election manifesto promised land reform, but it is easier promised than delivered as it will have to confront the still-powerful Army on the matter.
As of right now, Myanmar has the world’s goodwill and potential abounds. Washington wants to seize the opportunity to pull the Army away from China’s ambit and towards itself at a time when it is looking for new partners in the Indo-Pacific region to bolster its “pivot” strategy. The country has abundant natural resources and is wedged between the massive markets of China, India and Southeast Asia. A lot of expatriate Burmese are returning home, bringing in ideas, enthusiasm and skills with them. Foreign investment, especially in telecoms and energy, is pouring in. Many believe it can reclaim its title as the world’s leading rice exporter.
The low-hanging fruits of Suu Kyi’s victory have been picked. Further change will rest on deeper, structural changes that will take much longer. “People expect that the NLD will solve all their problems,” said Bo Bo Oo, an MP who spent 20 years in jail for supplying medicine to students. “But it will take at least ten years before we see real change.”
The writer is a member of the editorial team of The Daily Star.
This story was originally published by The Daily Star, Bangladesh
Depuis quelques jours, les coupures du courant électrique sont récurrentes avec des conséquences au plan économique non négligeables. Mais qu’est-ce qui est à l’origine de cette nouvelle crise énergétique qui plonge chaque jour le pays dans l’obscurité pendant plusieurs heures ?
Le Comité de normalisation du football béninois (Conor), 72 heures avant l’expiration de son mandat, s’est vu renouveler la confiance de la Fifa. C’est à travers sa correspondance en date du mercredi 27 avril signée de son secrétaire général par intérim, Markus Kattner.
By Arif Azad
Apr 28 2016 (Dawn, Pakistan)
In March 2016, the EU signed a far-reaching deal with Turkey to stem the flow of migrants into their union, which has spiked since September 2015. The hastily crafted deal, criticised by the UN for its disregard for human rights safeguards, requires Turkey to accept all migrants currently stranded in Greece, in return for visa-free travel for Turkish citizens to the EU, and a hefty sum of six billion euros.
Earlier, the EU had expanded its monetary and expert support to Greece to ease its burden of hosting migrants. As part of this new deal, Greece has begun expelling migrants to Turkey, which in turn has begun housing refugees on its soil, and is preparing to expel most non-Syrian refugees. As a consequence of this policy, Pakistani migrants in Greece are at the front of the expulsion queue.
On April 4, Greece shipped around 200 migrants to Turkey, including 111 Pakistanis.
Ninety-seven deportees (mostly Pakistanis) were also expelled via land route, according to Greek police. Given the Turkish parliament`s position on the status of Pakistani migrants, our government must be prepared to receive and repatriate a new wave of migrants returning to their (apparent) home country.
This issue has been brewing for years and has been on the policy radar of EU officials who have quietly intimated the Pakistani government of the possibility of impending deportations from their territory. Last December, our government returned over 30 out of 50 deportees who arrived in Pakistan due to lack of proper documentation, the interior ministry claiming that the EU is dumping non-Pakistani deportees on our soil. The EU`s migration commissioner, Dimitris Avramopoulos, visited to resolve the issue. Yet the crisis has worsened.
The issue of Pakistani migrants in Greece, mostly without papers according to Greek authorities, has been in the spotlight since the Greek financial crisis. Greece has attracted Pakistan migrants since the 1970s; in one study by the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, Pakistani migrants number 40,000-50,000, although of ficial figures put the number at 15,478. The estimated 40,000-50,000 include migrants without residency documents.
Irrespective of their status, the Pakistani migrant community constitutes the largest Asian community in Greece; they have suffered the worst racist abuse and attacks in recent years, as documented in reports by various human rights groups.
The atmosphere of hostility has resulted in a huge spike in administrative expulsions by the Greek government, which peaked at 5,135 in 2012, according to Greek police.This is a huge jump from 2011, where the figure stood at 1,293 administrative expulsions.
Another category of voluntary returns includes another 6,445 migrants, according to combined figures of the International Organisation of Migration and the Greek police. Again, this represents a massive spike from 715 in 2011. Worryingly, before the deportation itself, most of these Pakistani migrants are detained in detention centres in degrading conditions. In some of these, the migrants have taken to hunger strikes to protest their conditions.
Yet this huge number of forced and voluntary repatriation has barely raised any policy ripples in Pakistan. With the new draconian EU-Turkey deal being hastily put into effect with little regard for human rights safeguards, the number of Pakistani deportees is set to rise exponentially especially given Pakistan`s agreement with Turkey to take back all the deportees and repatriate them. Yet this is not the only stream of depor-tees coming Pakistan`s way; the EU, too, is oiling up its deportation machinery.
Given growing hostility to newly arriving migrants in Europe, EU immigration policies are stiffening. One of the policy responses to the migrant issue involves voluntary or forced repatriation of failed applicants, to ease domestic opposition to growing migrant populations.
That means the rate ofasylum refusal is set to grow across the EU, resulting in a greater drive towards deportation and repatriation. With an acceptance rate of 10-50pc for Pakistani applicants, the refused applicants will be put on a fast-track deportation schedule. This will swell the already growing concourse of Pakistan deportees, bringing with it its own set of rehabilitation challenges.
Yet it seems that the Pakistani government is not fully tuned into the scale of the crisis which is slowly brewing in foreign lands but heading for its borders. The response requires energetic planning to address a range of rehabilitation, policy and human rights challenges. Not much is forthcoming on this front. The sooner this multifaceted challenge is faced head-on, the better it is for the desperate and exhausted deportees.
The writer is a development consultant and policy analyst.
This story was originally published by Dawn, Pakistan
La déclaration des biens des députés est toujours attendue par l’Autorité nationale de lutte contre la corruption (Anlc). Son rapporteur, Agapit Napoléon a apporté des clarifications sur la radio hémicycle.