European court opposes EU, Canada passenger data exchange

Brussels: The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on Wednesday against a proposed deal to share passenger data between Canada and the EU, saying it violated the bloc's fundamental rights.

In 2014, the EU and Canada negotiated an agreement that would allow Passenger Name Record data on air travellers to be sent to a Canadian authority, which would store it for up to five years and possibly send it to third parties for anti-terrorism purposes, Efe news reported.

"The PNR agreement may not be concluded in its current form because several of its provisions are incompatible with the fundamental rights recognised by the EU," said the court in a statement on Wednesday.

The court highlighted that it particularly violated the rights to respect for private life and protection of personal data.