The European Commission proposed new rules on airline passenger data on Tuesday that would require the collection of this data, including for intra-EU flights, aimed at combating illegal immigration on all flights entering the Schengen area. and border improvement. management, the executive director of the community announced in a press release, reports Agerpres.

In particular, new rules are proposed to strengthen the use of Advance Passenger Information (API) data. This proposal is one of the key actions identified in the EU’s security strategy.

The new rules will improve the use of API data for pre-flight screening of passengers at external borders. The new rules will also strengthen the fight against serious crime and terrorism in the EU. This will address an important gap in the current legal framework while complying with EU data protection and data transfer standards.

The new rules require the collection of API data for border management and anti-illegal immigration purposes for all flights entering the Schengen area and include a closed list of API data elements, API data collection tools and a single point. for data transfer. This will facilitate the movement of people traveling in the Schengen area, reduce the time required for disembarkation and physical checks at the border.

The transfer of API data by air carriers to national authorities will also be simplified through a new router managed by eu-LISA, the EU agency. This technical solution complies with personal data protection measures because it only transmits and does not store API data.

The proposal must be considered by the European Parliament and the EU Council, and the new rules on the collection and transfer of API data are expected to be fully applicable from 2028.