The EU and US reached an interim agreement on the transmission of PNR data on Friday.

The deal, which replaces the 2004 accord and is valid until July 2007, comes one week after a deadline set by the European Court of Justice, which voided the original arrangement. Officials said earlier last week that little separated the two sides (ATWOnline, Oct. 3).

Terms of the deal include a new provision requiring the US Dept. of Homeland Security to ask for data from European airlines rather than simply accessing it. PNR data will be transmitted by carriers to US authorities within 15 min. of departure. The agreement demands certain levels of security among US agencies that might share data. French Justice Minister Pascal Clement told the Associated Press that the EU "got concrete guarantees with respect to" privacy and data protection.

IATA DG Giovanni Bisignani called the deal "a major step in the right direction" and said it was time "for governments to move on to further harmonization and joint recognition of standards in other areas of security." The Assn. of European Airlines expressed satisfaction that data would "continue to be transferred to the US in the same way as under the previous, 2004 agreement."

DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff said US Customs and Border Protection would have "new flexibility" to share data with other agencies, adding, "I applaud my counterparts at the [EU] for agreeing with me on the importance of sharing this passenger data to defend us against terrorism."

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