EU nears anti-terror deal on sharing air passenger data

Brussels

THE European Union (EU) is nearing the end of a five-year struggle for a deal on sharing the names of airline passengers to help trace returning jihadists, after pressure from member states in the wake of the Paris attacks.

Interior ministers from the 28 EU nations have agreed on issues that had hobbled negotiations with the European Parliament for years. The parliament is now expected to grant final approval for the scheme within two weeks.

France, which is still reeling from the terror attacks that killed 130 people in Paris in November, spearheaded the push for an agreement by the end of the year on the Passenger Name Record (PNR) system.

"After so many years of debate, we have finally reached a deal on a European PNR," said Luxembourg Interior Minister Etienne Schneider, whose cou…