Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Legal News Blogs -> JURIST - The Paper Chase

Legal News

: JURIST - The Paper Chase

EU blocks agreement to share financial information with US

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The European Parliament voted 378-196 Thursday to nullify an interim agreement between European Union (EU) member states and the US that gave American counter-terrorism officials access to the financial information of European citizens. The agreement was intended to last nine months, while the EU and US reached a permanent agreement to share European banking information via the SWIFT banking network. Opponents of the agreement said that it failed to protect the privacy of European residents, but those in favor of the deal argue that further delaying US access to the information increases security risks to both the US and EU. US Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levy spoke out last week against EU attempts to block the data sharing system. He said the agreement was vital for counter-terrorism efforts, and that privacy concerns were overblown. The European Parliament had the right to block the agreement under the terms of the Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force in December. The US and the EU had been sharing banking information since the 9/11 attacks, but the information only became public in 2006. The civil liberties committee of Parliament had earlier voted against the agreement.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on February 11, 2010 (boomark / email).