Brussels, 15/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 15 June, the European Commission adopted a draft agreement over the long term aimed at allowing the United States to use European citizens' banking data held by the company Swift (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications) in their Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme (TFTP). Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, who was speaking at a press conference in Strasbourg, said the agreement: “represents a victory for all EU institutions, taking account of all the key issues raised by the European Parliament and of the mandate received by the Council”. The commissioner hoped MEPs would be able to vote in the not too distant future, but did not speak of a date in July. The US ambassador to the EU, William E. Kennard, for his part, said in a press release that he welcomed the Commission's decision as a “positive move forward”. “The United States has taken into account the concerns expressed by the Parliament and the Council on TFTP. This new agreement incorporates major changes to meet these concerns”, he said. According to an official American source, the timetable is now in the hands of Parliament but it is hoped that a new agreement may be able to take effect as soon as possible in order to reactivate TFTP, a highly important programme for combating terrorism. During the plenary session in Strasbourg, Commission President José Manuel Barroso defended the Swift agreement, pointing out that the United States considers it as a “first priority” in its relations with the EU. He denied that a significant amount of data is passed over to the Americans. The leader of the Socialist Group in Parliament, Martin Schulz of Germany, highlighted the Parliament's “serious misgivings about these negotiations”. “What the Commission decided today is not what the Parliament would view as constituting progress”, he said.
Under the draft agreement, Swift undertakes to send to the US Treasury Department information (account number, name of account holder, his/her address, national identity number and other personal date relevant to financial transfers) on any person suspected of links to terrorist activities. The agreement will be for five years renewable every year. The text restricts the amount of information that can be transferred and ensures that Europol decides if the information is necessary in the fight against terrorism and the funding of terrorism before the data are sent to the United Stares. Unjustified requests will be rejected and the data not transferred. The draft agreement empowers a team of EU experts to undertake significant review of all aspects of the agreement and of the TFTP. The European Parliament will be kept fully informed. This team will be led by the Commission and will include representatives of European data protection authorities and a representative of the justice system. The Commission will also appoint an independent EU person who will monitor the activities of the “scrutineers” and the independent auditors on an ongoing basis. In addition, the EU will undertake within six months of the agreement's coming into force, and thereafter on a regular basis, a detailed review of data protection compliance. The draft agreement provides for a right to information, access and rectification of information, non-discriminatory treatment for administrative redress and a guarantee to have the means of legal redress in the event of misuse of data. Each of the parties may terminate the agreement at any time. The agreement provides for an EU equivalent to the US TFTP programme. Non-extracted data may be held for a period of five years. Data sent to European law enforcement authorities may also be sent to third countries, on condition that the agreement of the country from which the data have come has been granted. (B.C./transl.jl/rt)