Brussels, 09/02/2010 (Agence Europe) - With just two days to go before the crucial European Parliament vote on the Swift interim agreement, the EU Council published a declaration intended to reassure MEPs regarding compliance with guarantees for the protection of personal data. In the declaration, which was adopted unanimously - although Germany and Austria abstained - the 25 member states recall that the lack of any provisional agreement would open up a major security breach. The authorities on both sides of the Atlantic would in fact run the risk of losing the benefit of the American terrorist finance tracking programme (TFTP) during future investigations, the Council underlines with reference to the conclusions of the report handed over by the former French judge, Jean-Louis Bruguière, on the use of Swift data by the American authorities. The Council also points out that the agreement to be put to the Parliament's vote will not be for more than 9 months, and that it will contain a large number of guarantees requested by Parliament, such as judiciary approval for data transfer requests, application of the so-called “Push” system which bans automatic access to data by the United States, and the use of data for purposes other than combating terrorism funding. Concerning a long term agreement between the EU and the United States on TFTP, the Council states it shares the concerns of the Parliament on the subject of finding a balance between security measures and the protection of civil liberties and data. With a view to forthcoming talks, the Commission will, in February, adopt draft guidelines taking the concerns expressed by both institutions into account. The Council also takes the view that a long term agreement should contain sound guarantees concerning correcting measures, the deletion of data and greater precision regarding TFTP information-sharing with national authorities and third country authorities, the document states. The interim agreement also includes protection such as restriction of the scope and absolute ban of “data mining”, which also appear in pride of place in any future agreement. The Council finally undertakes to keep the Parliament fully informed at all stages of the procedure of the future negotiation and promises to negotiate with the Assembly on an interinstitutional agreement concerning better access to the classified parts of the international agreements.
The declaration was published as a response to the considerable concern expressed by the European Parliament and its president, Jerzy Buzek, who, on Monday 8 February, sent another letter to the Spanish prime minister, José Luis Zapatero, calling for further guarantees regarding future negotiation of a long term agreement with the United States on banking data transfers. In his letter, Buzek requested inter alia that, in view of the negotiation to come, the Council take full account of the recommendations in the European Parliament resolution adapted in September 2009. He also wanted the Council to grant Parliament access to all the papers and information on these negotiations so that it could give its decision. Parliament is unhappy that the Council did not send it a confidential paper on the negotiation of the interim agreement. The Council, which has in the meantime removed the secrecy of the document, argues that MEPs could have had access to it, and that some were able to consult this appendix at Council headquarters in Brussels. The paper, which is a full part of the agreement signed on 30 September 2009 between the EU and the USA, designates the SWIFT company (an international baking telecommunications firm), established in Belgium, as the supplier of data transmitted under the terms of the agreement. It is also stated that the EU and USA agree that Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA) information may not be requested by the USA of the SWIFT company.
The desire to show off credentials does not come solely from European capitals, but also from the USA. On Friday 5 February, Buzek received a letter from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary to the Treasury Timothy Geithner reiterating the importance of an agreement between the EU and the USA in the joint fight against terrorism. “It is clear that all further negotiation with the EU on the TFTP will have to be conducted in such as way as to allow the European Parliament to take an enlightened decision on a new agreement,” they said. “We wish to explore the various ways that the following agreement may even be further improved,” they added, calling on MEPs to come themselves and meet the authorities responsible for implementing the TFTP in the United States. The Parliamentary vote on the temporary EU-USA agreement on SWIFT will be held in Strasbourg on Thursday 11 February. A debate will take place on Wednesday 10 February, providing the Council and Commission with a last chance to persuade MEPs not to reject the agreement. The result of the vote in the civil liberties committee (LIBE) - 29 against the agreement, 23 for, with one abstention - demonstrates the level of division among MEPs hitherto (see EUROPE 10072). (B.C./transl.tfl)