Two member states are opposed to SWIFT deal, but delay would mean involvement of MEPs. Germany and Austria are coming under pressure ahead of a 1 December deadline to drop their opposition to an EU agreement to share bank transfer data with the US. Supporters of an agreement argue that it is an essential weapon in the fight against terrorism because it allows the tracking of funds suspected of being transferred by terrorist organisations. But if the agreement is not in place by 1 December, when the Lisbon treaty enters into force, it will have to be renegotiated with the involvement of MEPs, which could take at least six months, according to EU diplomats. Home affairs ministers will meet in Brussels on Monday (30 November) and the Swedish government, which holds the presidency of the Council of Ministers, is pressing Germany and Austria to end their resistance there. The presidency says that if there is no agreement then the transfer of data would have to stop.
Germany and Austria are coming under pressure ahead of a 1 December deadline to drop their opposition to an EU agreement to share bank transfer data with the US.
Supporters of an agreement argue that it is an essential weapon in the fight against terrorism because it allows the tracking of funds suspected of being transferred by terrorist organisations. But if the agreement is not in place by 1 December, when the Lisbon treaty enters into force, it will have to be renegotiated with the involvement of MEPs, which could take at least six months, according to EU diplomats.
Home affairs ministers will meet in Brussels on Monday (30 November) and the Swedish government, which holds the presidency of the Council of Ministers, is pressing Germany and Austria to end their resistance there. The presidency says that if there is no agreement then the transfer of data would have to stop.
The EU justice and home affairs minister are about to agree on a large-scale banking data sharing plan with the United States. The agreement will have a massive impact on the privacy of banking data of European businesses and citizens.
