Airlines face fines of up to 750,000 kuna if they do not provide passenger data to the Ministry of the Interior

Air carriers may be fined up to 750,000 kuna if they do not provide passenger data to the Ministry of the Interior (MUP), which they will have to do based on the provisions of the law on the transfer and processing of passenger data in air traffic for the purpose of preventing, detecting, investigating, and conducting criminal proceedings for acts of terrorism and other serious crimes, which the Government sent to parliamentary procedure on Thursday.

If a carrier fails to provide data, it will be fined between 150,000 and 300,000 kuna, and the responsible person in the company will face fines of 10,000 to 30,000 kuna. If the offense is repeated, the penalties are even stricter, ranging from 300,000 to 750,000 kuna for air carriers and from 15,000 to 50,000 kuna for the responsible person in that company, said Minister of the Interior Davor Božinović at a press conference in Banski Dvori.

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It is the obligation of EU member states to implement this law by May 25 of this year, which incorporates the EU directive from 2016 into Croatian legislation aimed at increasing efficiency in combating crime with international characteristics.

This is, Božinović said, an important law regarding the overall efforts the Government is making to fulfill the strategic goal of joining Schengen, as well as concerning the national security of the Republic of Croatia.

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Air carriers will have to provide the MUP’s department for passenger information in air traffic with data they already collect, meaning no new obligation to collect data is imposed on them.

Passengers will not notice any changes except that all the data currently being collected will also be available to the national unit for monitoring air traffic safety, Božinović stated.

After processing this data, if it is determined that a certain person may be involved in criminal acts, the MUP will provide that data and the results of the processing to the authority responsible for acting in the specific case, which may be domestic or foreign.

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In Croatia, these are the SOA, VSOA, Customs Administration, Tax Administration, Office for the Prevention of Money Laundering, Financial Inspectorate, DORH, and courts, while regarding foreign entities, these are the bodies nominated by member states as their national bodies and Europol, the minister said.

Passenger data is stored for five years, and after a period of six months from the date of their transfer, all data is depersonalized, meaning that information that can directly identify the person to whom the data relates is invisible to data users. Only security-relevant information is retained, Božinović explained.

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The proposed law, the minister emphasizes, ensures full respect for personal rights and is not discriminatory, meaning, for example, that data on race, religion, union membership, political preferences, and similar cannot be collected.

The implementation of the IT system for law enforcement will cost just over 21 million kuna, with funds secured from European funds.