Brussels, 28/07/2009 (Agence Europe) - Michele Cercone, the spokesman for European Justice Commissioner, said on Tuesday 28 July that it was hoped that the agreement on Swift being negotiated between the EU and the United States would be for a shorter period that planned. “The Commission's wish is for the agreement to be a short as possible. … The temporary mandate lasts for a maximum of one year. We hope that it will be even shorter than that, perhaps a few months,” he said. The EU would like to conclude a new agreement with the United States as soon as the Lisbon Treaty comes into effect, in order to bring the European Parliament (EP), from where there has been strong criticism of the negotiations (see EUROPE 9949), into the process. “Sometimes one has to wonder about some criticisms that are clearly based on distortion of the facts” for political ends, Cercone said. At the adoption of the negotiating mandate by the Council of the EU on Monday, Green MEPs Rebecca Harms (Germany) and Daniel Cohn-Bendit (France) lambasted what they felt was an attempt to circumvent the EP, encouraged by Commission President José Manuel Barroso, who, in defiance of fundamental rights, wanted to have an agreement with the United States on transferring bank information urgently adopted. The MEPs say that this is a “further reason” for not backing Barroso for a second term of office. As the general elections in Germany approach, several German members, of all political persuasions, have been critical of European casualness on this issue. Cercone denied this: “At the heart of this issue, there is a decision taken by the member states and a mandate granted to the Presidency which is negotiating with the support of the Commission. If there is any criticism at this point, it should, perhaps, be addressed to the decision-makers”. (B.C./transl.rt)