OSCE and Kosovo institutions discuss legal aspects of setting up an Advance Passenger Information system

A three-day meeting between the OSCE and Kosovo institutions on the legal aspects of setting up an Advance Passenger Information (API) system was held in Pejë/Peć from 18 to 20 September 2019.

Organized by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department with the support of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, this was the third in a series of meetings held in Kosovo.

The meeting provided legal support for the smooth implementation of the recommendations included in the roadmap for setting up an API system that was drafted during a workshop in Prishtinë/Priština from 20 to 22 February 2018.

In July 2019, the Kosovo Ministry of Internal Affairs formed the working group to assess and review legislation relating to the implementation of an API. Following a number of productive meetings, the Ministry requested that the OSCE provide guidance and assistance in finalizing the legislative document on API.

During the meeting in Pejë/Peć, an OSCE independent consultant, together with representatives from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Police, the Ministry of Infrastructure, and other relevant institutions, as well as the European Union’s Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo and the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program, analyzed the Administrative Instruction on Measures and Procedures for the Receipt and Use of Data from API and the Passenger Name Record (PNR). The consultant provided input and advice on how to improve the Administrative Instruction in order to be fully compliant with international standards set up by International Civilian Aviation Organization, especially when it comes to partnering with airlines, the protection of data privacy, the legal authority to collect and store passenger data, among other areas.

The OSCE will continue working with local authorities across the OSCE area to develop API implementation plans as part of the Organization’s activities to enhance this aspect of security.

API and PNR systems are electronic communications systems through which biographic data from a traveller’s passport and flight details are collected by airlines and transmitted to border control agencies before a flight’s departure or arrival.