Proposal for a Regulation on the collection and transfer of advance passenger information (API) for enhancing and facilitating external border controls, amending Regulation (EU) 2019/817 and Regulation (EU) 2018/1726, and repealing Council Directive 2004/82/EC

Summary:

Legislative initiative tabled by the European Commission on 13 December 2022, concerning the collection and transfer of Advance Passenger Information (API). It introduces amendments to Regulation (EU) 2019/817 and Regulation (EU) 2018/1726. It seeks to repeal Council Directive 2004/82/EC.

Further Information:

Advance Passenger Information (API) is used in border management to enhance effectiveness and efficiency of border checks. It is an instrument used to facilitate traveller clearances and counter illegal immigration. API data is a set of identity information regarding the passengers contained in their travel documents combined with flight information collected at check-in and transferred to the border authorities of the country of destination.

The establishment of systems for the collection and transfer of API data is an international standard under the Convention on International Civil Aviation since 2017. In the European Union, it is regulated by Regulation Council Directive 2004/82/EC, also known as API Directive. That Directive imposes an obligation on air carriers to transfer API data, upon request, to the border authorities of the country of destination prior to the flight’s take-off. However, it does not impose an obligation on Member States to request API data from air carriers. An assessment of the Directive highlighted that even where Member States request API data, their national authorities do not always use API data in a consistent way. The API Directive sets only limited criteria for the collection, transmission and processing of API data as regards the flight coverage for the collection of data, the data elements to be collected, or the means to capture the data. The evaluation showed that this situation led to very divergent practices.

This draft law reviews the existing legislative framework on the collection and transfer of API data. It introduces uniform rules on API data collection, mandatory API data collection for the purposes of border management and migration and for law enforcement purposes. It seeks to gather better quality API data and streamline transmission of API data by air carriers to national authorities through a new router, managed by eu-LISA.

The proposal was adopted by the European Commission on 13 December 2022, as one of the actions of the EU Security Union Strategy. It seeks to repeal the API Directive, and introduce amendments to Regulation (EU) 2019/817 on the interoperability between EU information systems and Regulation (EU) 2018/1726 on the eu-LISA agency.

• Primary Source

Official

EUR-LEX: SWD (2022)421: Staff Working Document accompanying the Proposal - Subsidiarity Grid https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=SWD:2022:421:FIN

EUR-LEX: SWD (2022)422: Staff Working Document accompanying the Proposal - Impact Assessment Report https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=SWD:2022:422:FIN

EUR-LEX: SWD (2022)423: Staff Working Document accompanying the Proposal - Executive Summary of the Impact Assessment Report https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=SWD:2022:423:FIN

European Parliament: Legislative Train Schedule: Obligation of carriers to communicate advance passenger data (API directive) https://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/theme-promoting-our-european-way-of-life/file-revision-of-the-advance-passenger-information-(api)-directive

European Commission: DG Migration and Home Affairs: Border and law enforcement - advance passenger information (API) - revised rules https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/whats-new/evaluations-and-impact-assessments/border-and-law-enforcement-advance-passenger-information-api-revised-rules_en

European Commission: Press Release, 13/12/2022: Security Union: Commission proposes new rules on Advance Passenger Information to facilitate external border management and increase internal security https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_7644

European Commission: Questions and Answers - Revised rules on Advance Passenger Information (13 December 2022) https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_22_7646

EPRS: Briefing, December 2022: Revision of Council Directive 2004/82/EC on the obligation of carriers to communicate passenger data https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2022)734699

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