The Council of the European Union has completed the correction procedure for the EU–Iceland Passenger Name Record (PNR) Agreement, signed in Luxembourg on 14 October 2025, with the corrected text set to be published in the Official Journal of the EU. The corrections, finalised on 23 July 2026, adjust two provisions to refer to "the Annex" instead of "Annex I", a technical fix that applies to all linguistic versions of the Agreement.
The first correction concerns Article 2, point 5, which defines PNR data as elements listed exhaustively in "the Annex" rather than "Annex I". The second correction, in Article 3, paragraph 3, requires Iceland to ensure that its Passenger Information Unit (PIU) deletes any data element received from an air carrier upon receipt of PNR data if that element is not listed in "the Annex". The corrections were introduced following the procedure set out in document ST 10324/26, and no objections were received, allowing the correction procedure to be completed on 23 July 2026.
The EU–Iceland PNR Agreement is part of a broader EU framework for transferring airline passenger data to third countries to combat terrorism and serious crime. Similar agreements exist with the United States, Canada, and Australia, and the EU has been negotiating or updating such deals with several partners. The agreement with Iceland, a member of the Schengen area but not the EU, aims to ensure that PNR data is processed with adequate safeguards, including data protection standards.
The corrections are purely technical and do not alter the substance of the Agreement. They clarify that the list of PNR data elements is contained in the single Annex to the Agreement, rather than a separate annex. This alignment ensures consistency across the text and avoids ambiguity in implementation.
For stakeholders, the impact is limited. Air carriers operating flights between the EU and Iceland will continue to transfer PNR data as before, but the corrected wording clarifies their obligations regarding data elements not listed in the Annex. Iceland's Passenger Information Unit must now ensure deletion of any such elements upon receipt, a requirement that was already implicit but is now explicitly tied to the Annex. EU and Icelandic data protection authorities will oversee compliance, and the correction reduces the risk of legal challenges over the scope of data collection.
The publication of the corrected text in the Official Journal will formally bring the corrections into force. The Agreement itself, once fully in force, will provide a legal basis for PNR transfers, balancing security needs with privacy protections. No further institutional steps are expected at the EU level, though implementation will be monitored by the Commission and the European Data Protection Supervisor in their respective roles.