By Cecilia Malmström
08.07.2010 / 05:15 CET
MEPs can vote in favour of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme agreement with the US with full confidence that privacy will be protected.
The European Parliament is expected today (8 July) to vote on the Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme (TFTP) agreement negotiated between the European Commission and the United States.
It is a crucial decision for the fight against terrorism. The TFTP, managed by the US Treasury Department, was established following the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. It allowed US authorities to monitor terrorists' financing activities and prevent attacks across the world. The attempted liquid bomb plot at Heathrow airport in 2006, the Islamic Jihad Union in Germany in 2007, and the Jakarta hotel bombings in 2009: these are examples of terrorist plots and attacks where information from the TFTP played a significant role in identifying, investigating or prosecuting the individuals responsible.
The agreement allows the transfer to US authorities – under strict data-protection conditions – of certain categories of data regarding bank operations conducted via the SWIFT system. Once transferred, the data are accessible only when relevant to anti-terrorism investigations. Each extraction must be justified by evidence.
From 2001 to 2009, US authorities had access to information on money transfers via the SWIFT database based on US territory. But when the SWIFT servers moved to Europe on 1 January 2010, the US authorities lost access to significant amounts of data. Leads on some known suspects went cold.
This February, a first interim agreement that would have renewed the US authorities access to these data was rejected by the Parliament, which felt it did not protect EU citizens' privacy sufficiently.
That was during my very first week as commissioner for home affairs and it became one of my top priorities to negotiate a new agreement that both the EU institutions and the US could agree on.
I have now done this. The US Treasury Department is now committed to making information available so that EU citizens know what activities are carried out within the TFTP framework. Unlike the agreement rejected by the Parliament, the new draft grants EU citizens access to administrative and judicial redress. They will have the right to have their data corrected, cancelled or blocked if any errors are found.
Europol, the European police office, will verify that information requested by the US authorities is necessary for fighting terrorism. To limit the amount of data transferred, Europol will also have to verify that each and every request is tailored as narrowly as possible. If the US request does not meet these require-ments, the data will not be transferred.
The Commission will appoint an independent person who will have direct and on-the-spot access to data searches within the TFTP and who will monitor compliance with the privacy provisions in the agreement. In addition, a review team, including representatives of data-protection authorities, will regularly check that privacy rules are being fully respected. If they are not being respected, the agreement can be terminated.
Furthermore, the agreement provides for the EU to build its own system, equivalent to TFTP. An EU programme would reduce data transfers to the US. The US is committed to helping to create such a European system.
I believe this new agreement fulfils the Parliament's tough demands. It offers European citizens a two-fold guarantee: first, complete transparency as far as access and use of data are concerned; and, second, access to appropriate tools and redress procedures to ensure that privacy is protected. And, of course, it meets its initial purpose, to retain what has proven to be a key instrument in the fight against terrorism.
I now expect the Parliament to give its consent. Given our painful history with totalitarian regimes, the transfer of data is a very sensitive issue in Europe. This agreement is proof that we can find appropriate safeguards to accommodate legitimate concerns about both security and privacy.
Cecilia Malmström is the European commissioner for home affairs.
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Source: http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/imported/a-deal-that-protects-us-and-our-privacy/68446.aspx
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