Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

The proposed Council Decision aims to approve the Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the transfer of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime (the ‘Agreement’).

Switzerland and EU Member States that are contracting parties to the Schengen Convention have a shared responsibility to ensure internal security within a common area without internal border controls, including by exchanging relevant information. Passenger Name Record (the ‘PNR’) data is information provided by passengers, collected during airline booking and check-in processes and held in the air carriers’ reservation and departure control systems for their own commercial purposes. Existing agreements on PNR data processing with third countries have demonstrated the potential to enhance security of the Schengen area. Such agreements improve the prevention and detection of terrorism and serious crime offences, including trafficking in drugs, firearms and human beings, at EU external borders, as well as provide for a risk-based data-driven approach that Member States can use as a compensatory measure for the absence of internal border controls within the Schengen area.

Change 1

ChangedAlthough Switzerland is not considered a third country under Regulation 2016/679 (the ‘GDPR’), this legal framework does not apply to the processing of personal data, including PNR data, by Swiss law enforcement authorities for the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences, or the execution of criminal penalties. At the same time, Switzerland is bound by the Union acts which constitute a development of the provisions of the Schengen acquis. However, the Directive (EU) 2016/680 (the ‘PNR Directive’) does not constitute a development of the Schengen acquis, hence Switzerland does not participate in the implementation of this legal act.

Under the current framework, Switzerland may not lawfully receive and process PNR data on flights operated by air carriers between the Union and Switzerland. Therefore, the Commission recommended to open negotiations of the Agreement on 6 September 2023. On 4 March 2024, the Council provided its authorisation and the negotiations began on 21 March 2024. On 7 October 2025, the negotiations were formally concluded, and the Agreement was adopted by the Council on 17 February 2026. The Agreement was signed by the Internal Affairs and Migration Commissioner, Mr Magnus Brunner, and head of the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police, Mr Beat Jans, on 5 March 2026.

The main purpose of this Agreement is to bridge the security gap existing in the Schengen area and thus enable the air carriers to transfer the PNR data to Switzerland and vice versa. However, the transfer and processing of personal data, including PNR data, requires strict limitations and effective safeguards. According to the Opinion 30/2025 of the European Data Protection Supervisor from 19 December 2025, the provisions of the Agreement governing the transfer and processing of PNR data proved satisfactory. In this respect, Commission has briefed the rapporteurs on 2 June 2026, confirming that the Agreement sets high standards not only in terms of security, but also in terms of privacy and data protection.

In light of this, the Rapporteur recommends that Parliament endorses the draft Council decision text.