The European Parliament has heavily criticized EU member states for negotiating on a shaky legal basis a deal to continue the transfer of European citizens' bank details to the US Treasury, and for doing so behind closed doors and without any meaningful parliamentary input.
The agreements first became an issue in 2006 when it emerged that the US government was accessing, under counter-terrorism powers, bank details held by the European financial transfer company SWIFT on US territory but concerning European citizens. That computer has now been relocated to Europe, but the European Commission and EU governments want to allow continued US access..
Liberal Democrat European justice & human rights spokeswoman and MEP for London Sarah Ludford said: "It is unacceptable that once again the European and national parliaments are bypassed, a transparent and democratic process denied, legal certainty in doubt and Europeans at risk of privacy-invading datamining".
'MEPs want to know if firm guarantees have been obtained from US agencies that the data handed over will be secure and enjoy the same levels of protection as required in the EU. European citizens need to be able to trust EU data protection standards, and this kind of "giveaway" to a third country does not create that kind of confidence."
"The suspicion is that an attempt is being made to create a whole new area of EU competence via the back door, since a new European agency is proposed to hold a similar database, on the justification that the US agreement makes it necessary. This amounts to the now-familiar policy-laundering."
"All the documents must be released to the public, not just to MEPs in a 'secure' room. It is really absurd that public authorities from third countries get to see every detail of our bank accounts, but we citizens are not allowed access to the key documents."
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