Sophie In't Veld (D66, Netherlands) who has led the Parliament in the scrutiny of the various air passenger data agreements between the EU and third countries has given cautious welcome to the new package of proposals presented yesterday by Commissioner Malmström.

"The Commission's proposals largely reflect the requirements set out by the European Parliament" she said in an initial reaction. "One of the main demands, namely that the use of passenger data has to be drastically restricted, has been accepted."

The proposals will have to be studied by Parliament's Civil Liberties committee but they have been welcomed by Liberals and Democrats as a constructive package that represents a big improvement on the past.

The main outstanding point of criticism is that the need for massive storage of data still has not been proven. "It is not enough to say that the collection of data of passengers is 'useful 'or 'valuable'. It must be 'necessary' and 'proportional'." As far as Ms In't Veld is concerned the Commission proposals still need some improvement on these points.

"We will carefully scrutinise the outcome of the negotiations. The European Parliament will pull the plug if it is not satisfied with the progress," she continued. The EP, under the Lisbon Treaty, has the right to vote down the agreements already in place, as well as giving its consent to any new agreements.

For more information, please contact:
Neil Corlett: +33-3-88 17 41 67 or +32-478-78 22 84
e-mail: neil.corlett@europarl.europa.eu
Federica Terzi: +33-3-88 17 35 53 or +32-494 18 88 31