Brussels, 13/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday, the EU was reasonably optimistic at the possibility of concluding an agreement with the United States in the near future on the transfer of airline passenger name records (PNR) and bank data (Swift). “The negotiations are going very well and I am fairly optimistic that we will reach an agreement very soon”, the Commissioner with responsibility for Security, Franco Frattini, told the press release, referring to Swift. The EU is trying to obtain the conclusion of a framework agreement with the United States on the protection of banking data, after the Belgium-based Swift, which acts as an intermediary in most world financial transactions, had illegally given the American authorities access to certain personal information. For his part, German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has stated that he is “reasonably optimistic” that a new agreement can be reached on the PNR. “We are at a decisive phase”, he pointed out, as the current agreement expires at the end of July. At this moment in time, airlines are obliged to transfer 34 separate types of data to the American customs authorities (credit card details, addresses, etc). The EU hopes to reduce the number of data to be transmitted. The agreement also allows these data to be stored for three and a half years, a period which the United States hopes to extend. According to a high-level diplomat, the United States has agreed that these negotiations will end in an international agreement rather than just unilateral commitments. Other sources have reported a compromise on a reduction of the number of transmissible data to 19 and a storage duration not to exceed eight years. (bc)