Brussels, 24/03/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 24 March, the European Commissioner for home affairs, Cecilia Malmström, presented a new negotiation mandate, with a view to the conclusion, this summer, of a long-term agreement with the United States on the transfer of bank data, for the purposes of the fight against terrorism. "I hope that we will be able to start negotiations as soon as possible, in order to avoid any security risks", she stressed, adding that she hoped to reach an agreement with the "highest possible level" of protection for personal data. The aim for the EU is to reach a new "Swift agreement" very quickly, to give the United States access to the banking data of Europeans via its Terrorist Finance Tracking Program (TFTP). The draft mandate takes up the provisions already presented in the previous agreement. For example, it proposes a general maximum timeframe of five years for the data to be kept. The EU will also be entitled to cancel the agreement in the event of data protection violation. It is stipulated that American requests concerning data will be approved by a public judicial authority (probably that of the country where Swift is to have its headquarters: the Netherlands or Belgium). It also reaffirms that the objective must be strictly limited to fighting terrorism and there will be an absolute ban on any mass transfer of the data to third countries (only information arising from investigations can be transferred). Among the new elements contained within the draft is the fact that regular assessments of the agreement will be carried out by the European authorities. The text requires the Commission to report to the European Parliament on a regular basis and the suggestions of that institution will be taken into consideration. "We have taken account of the principal concerns of the Parliament, particularly as regards the respect for privacy and right to administrative and judicial recourse, to be effective and non-discriminatory", added Viviane Reding, the Justice Commissioner, who will be working closely with Ms Malmström over this dossier. The draft mandate also provides for reciprocity on the part of the US, should the EU create its own equivalent programme. The notion of "bulk" data transfer, on the other hand, is likely to remain in place in the future agreement, although the EU hopes to limit its scope as much as possible. (B.C./trans.fl)