EUROPEAN UNION-UNITED STATES 1 Feb 2010 One-sided interim bank transfer deal in effect

Brussels has agreed to a bank data transfer deal with Washington that allows anti-terrorist investigators in the United States to access European financial transaction data for nine months while a longer-term deal is negotiated. The deal formalizes a secret program introduced after the Sep 11 terror attacks in 2001, and it could be annulled before the nine months are up. The longer-term deal would allow European investigators access to US transfer information.

The plans of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) to relocate its database from US soil to Switzerland by the end of December precipitated the dealmaking.

Washington argues that information gleaned from the program has helped to thwart terrorist plots.

The European Greens and Liberals criticize the deal, saying it raises privacy concerns. They also criticized the rush to push it through before the Lisbon Treaty came into force: Europe's parliament would have had a bigger say in the issue with the treaty behind it. Dec/09

RELATED READING:

EU nations reach deal to transfer bank data to US in anti-terror probes (Canadian Press 30 Nov 2009)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jaPQhP28Fzy2GHm2qHGGmMwFwIiA

Bank data transfer deal with US reached (EU Observer 30 Nov 09)
http://euobserver.com/9/29072/?rk=1