Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be taken in the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization

Summary:

Proposal presented on 13 September 2019 by the European Commission establishing the position to be taken on behalf of the Union regarding proposed amendments to the Chicago Convention setting out new standards and recommended practices on passenger name record (PNR) data.

Further information:

The Convention on International Civil Aviation (the ‘Chicago Convention’) aims to regulate international air transport. It entered into force on 4 April 1947 and established the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The objectives of the ICAO are to develop the principles and techniques of international air navigation and to foster the planning and development of international air transport.

In March 2019, the ICAO Air Transport Committee (ATC) set up a Facilitation Panel Task Force to consider proposals for standards and recommended practices (SARPs) on the collection, use, processing and protection of PNR data. The Task Force is mandated to: a) review the existing PNR SARPs found in Chapter 9 of Annex 9 to the Chicago Convention; b) determine whether they need to be complemented by additional SARPs and/or guidance material; and c) as required, develop new provisions for the collection, use, processing and protection of PNR data.

Discussions on the revised ICAO PNR SARPs are still at an early stage. Once adopted the envisaged standards will be binding on all ICAO members, including all EU Member States, in accordance with and within the limits set out in the Chicago Convention.