MEPs reject and terminate US-EU SWIFT agreement

1.00.00pm GMT Thu 11th Feb 2010

Commenting on the rejection by the European Parliament - by almost 2 to 1 - of the 'SWIFT' agreement on transatlantic transfer of financial transaction data negotiated between the US and the 27 EU governments, Liberal Democrat European justice & human rights spokeswoman Sarah Ludford, who is also vice chair of the European Parliament delegation to the United States, said:

"The ball is firmly in the court of EU governments to come up quickly with a better deal which does not sell out European citizens' rights to privacy."

"This is not some boring Brussels battle. What's at stake is ensuring in the long term that the legitimate goal of fighting terrorism does not throw rights out of the window."

ENDS

Notes to Editors

The 'SWIFT' or 'Terrorist Financing Tracking Programme' agreement was signed by EU governments with the US authorities on 30 November 2009 and entered into force provisionally at the beginning of February for 9 months. It replaces an informal and until 2006 unknown arrangement whereby the US just issued administrative subpoenas to SWIFT, a private company that processes worldwide including European financial transactions. Under the Lisbon treaty the agreement needs MEP consent in order to be formally 'concluded'; today's rejection vote terminates it entirely. MEPs want EU governments to involve them in discussions for the mandate for the planned long-term agreement, not just give the Parliament a 'take-it-or-leave-it' role.

The EU Council of Ministers waited until the end of January to reply to a series of letters going back to mid-December from European Parliament President Buzek; but were unable to agree on improved data protection and privacy safeguards for the financial data involved.