EU-USA
Delay call for bank data transfer agreement - Political latecomers make SWIFT U-turn
Amid concerns over data protection and citizens' rights, the European Parliament's political group leaders today instructed Parliament President Jerzy Buzek to send a letter to the EU Council to call for it to delay its planned decision on a bank data transfer agreement with the USA. The letter calls for the scheduled decision on 30 November to be postponed to after 1 December, when the Lisbon Treaty comes into force.
Greens/EFA Co-Presidents Rebecca Harms and Daniel Cohn-Bendit commented:
"We welcome that Parliament's political group leaders have joined our call for the EU Council to postpone its planned decision on the bank data transfer agreement with the USA. It would be a scandal if Council was to rush through a decision on this deeply flawed agreement on the very last day before the Lisbon Treaty comes into force on 1 December.
The European Parliament will gain extensive co-legislative powers in this area under the Lisbon Treaty. It will be empowered to act for stricter rules on data protection and fundamental rights in the bank data transfer agreement.
The Greens have been calling for a delay on the SWIFT decision for weeks. (1) Only last week, the EPP-ED, Socialists and Liberals leaders blocked the Greens' call for a plenary debate on the bank data agreement in Strasbourg this week. In a SWIFT U-turn, they are belatedly recognising that Parliament must act. Better late than never."
Notes to editors:
(1) See Greens/EFA press release (12/11/09): "EU-US bank data agreement: EU Council must not sign away EU citizens' data protection rights"
