By IRNA
Berlin : German Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries warned against European calls for creating an American-style passenger data register, saying it would violate the country’s constitution.
The proposals from Brussels are “not compatible with German constitutional law,” Zypries said Tuesday in her speech to the 11th European Police Congress in Berlin.
The collecting and recording of personal data, without a given suspicion, infringes upon the privacy rights of citizens, the minister added.
Zypries was reacting to remarks by German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble who said that the latest European Union proposal was similar to an agreement with the US which allows the transfer of personal data.
As part of the US-EU accord, European security officials may forward personal data of passengers, including passenger names, addresses, seat numbers and credit card and travel details, to American authorities within 15 minutes of a flight’s departure for the US.
Meanwhile, EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini assured Zypries that there would be no general legitimacy for the use of recorded data.
The issue will also be a topic of discussion in the European as well as national parliaments, according to Frattini.
Germany’s upper chamber, the Bundesrat, approved a measure last month under which German authorities could pass data of flight passengers to US intelligence agencies.
As part of the controversial legislation, US officials are authorized to record personal data of air passengers for 15 years.
Germany’s lower house, the Bundestag, gave green light to the bill last November.
In July, the European Union signed an accord with the US, whereby the personal data of all passengers booked on US-bound flights from Europe is submitted to the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) once the flight departs.
German privacy advocates have repeatedly criticized the recording and passing of personal information, saying it would violate the privacy rights of people.