EU to share airline passenger names

The European Union (EU) has agreed on a system to share airline passenger details in a bid to improve counter-terrorism efforts, the media reported on Saturday.

The Passenger Name Record (PNR) system will allow access to passenger information including names, contact details and credit cards, BBC reported.

Details would be collected from European carrier flights entering or leaving the EU - as well as from those between member countries.

The system would be "indispensable in the fight against terrorism", French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said.

"The compromise agreed today will enable the EU to set up an effective PNR system which fully respects fundamental rights and freedoms," Luxembourg Interior Minister Etienne Scheider said.

"After so many years of debate, we have finally reached a deal."

The PNR system was first proposed in 2007, but lawmakers struggled to pass it because of privacy concerns.

A new sense of urgency was brought to the negotiations in the wake of the November 13 Paris attacks that killed 130 people.