Passengers traveling between EU countries or taking domestic flights would have to hand over a mass of personal information, including their mobile phone numbers and credit card details, as part of a new package of security measures being demanded by the British government. The data would be stored for 13 years and used to "profile" suspects.
Brussels officials are already considering controversial anti-terror plans that would collect up to 19 pieces of information on every air passenger entering or leaving the EU. But Britain wants the system extended to sea and rail travel and to be applied to domestic flights and those between EU countries.
According to a questionnaire circulated to all EU capitals by the European Commission, the UK is the only country of 27 EU member states that wants the system used for "more general public policy purposes" besides fighting terrorism and organized crime.
The so-called passenger name record system, proposed by the commission and supported by most EU governments, has been denounced by civil libertarians and data protection officials as draconian and probably ineffective.
The scheme would work through national agencies collecting and processing the passenger data and then sharing it with other EU states. Britain also wants to be able to exchange the information with third parties outside the EU.
Officials in Brussels and in European capitals admit the proposed system represents a massive intrusion into European civil liberties, but insist it is a necessary part of a battery of new electronic surveillance measures being mooted in the interests of European security.
These include proposals unveiled in Brussels last week for fingerprinting and collecting biometric information of all non-EU nationals entering or leaving the union.
All airlines would provide government agencies with 19 pieces of information on every passenger, including mobile phone number and credit card details.
The system would work by "running the data against a combination of characteristics and behavioral patterns aimed at creating a risk assessment," according to the draft legislation.
"When a passenger fits within a certain risk assessment, he could be identified as a high-risk passenger," it says.
The draft foresees the collection of a vast amount of personal data of all passengers flying into or out of the EU regardless of whether they are under suspicion or innocent travelers.
These data will then be stored for a period of 13 years to allow for profiling. The profiling of all passengers envisaged by the current proposal might raise constitutional concerns in some member states.
"Where is this going to stop? There's no mature discussion of risk. As soon as you question something like this, you're soft on terrorism in the UK and in the EU," British Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament Sarah Ludford said.
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