The future of an EU-US agreement that would allow the US Department of Treasury (DOT) continued access to European data on banking transactions is looking decidedly shaky. The European Parliament has made a last-minute appeal to the Swedish EU Presidency not to approve such an agreement at the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council, on 30 November. As Europoliticswas going to press, the Swedish EU Presidency had still not decided whether to pull the controversial item from the agenda.

Parliament is furious at the Council for trying to sign the accord without seeking the MEPs’ approval. The Council can legally do this if the 27 EU ministers give their political blessing, on 30 November, but not if they wait until 1 December. That is because the Lisbon Treaty enters into force on 1 December and the treaty gives MEPs the right to approve such an agreement. The Parliament’s President, Jerzy Buzek (EPP, Poland), wrote to Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, on 26 November, saying “the European Parliament feels strongly that this kind of agreement concerning personal bank details of EU citizens should be adopted with the full involvement of the European Parliament under the Lisbon Treaty”.

The other Parliament leaders are supporting Buzek. From the Socialists and Democrats, Martin Schulz (Germany) said “we need an open and democratic debate on what is at stake. That debate will require only a day’s delay”. From the Greens, Daniel Cohn-Bendit (France) and Rebecca Harms (Germany) said “it would be a scandal if Council was to rush through a decision on this deeply-flawed agreement”. Ever since The New York Timesfirst revealed, in 2006, that the DOT was secretly monitoring banking transactions, the Parliament has raised objections.

US LOSING ACCESS TO DATA

The data on the transactions are held by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), a private company headquartered near Brussels. SWIFT has decided to change the architecture of its databases, the effect of which will be to cut off access to SWIFT’s European data to US authorities. The European data will soon be held in a database in the Netherlands, whereas SWIFT’s US database in Virginia will henceforth only have US data. Previously the Virginia database also held European data. The DOT cannot, therefore, access the Dutch database unless the EU gives its approval. SWIFT is putting all of its transactions data in a separate database in Switzerland.

The DOT had been pleased when earlier in 2008 the Swedes said they would negotiate a temporary agreement that would essentially act as a quick-fix. It was unclear at that time when or even if the Lisbon Treaty would enter into force. The DOT insists it needs continued access to track down terrorist financing. It is still seething over The New York Times’decision to expose the programme, complaining that terrorists now know of its existence.