The Lisbon Treaty, agreed by 27 member state governments, has given MEPs a right of veto over international agreements of this kind. The same governments must accept that the EP will use this power in a way which reflects the concerns of Europe's citizens.
"The majority view in the European Parliament is that the correct balance between security, on the one hand, and the protection of civil liberties and fundamental rights, on the other, has not been achieved in the text put to us by the Council," said Jerzy Buzek.
European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek made the following statement on the outcome of the vote on the agreement between the EU and the USA on the processing and transfer of Financial Messaging Data from the European Union to the United States for purposes of the Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme (SWIFT) in the European Parliament:
"The European Parliament has rejected the proposed interim SWIFT Agreement. The majority view in the European Parliament is that the correct balance between security, on the one hand, and the protection of civil liberties and fundamental rights, on the other, has not been achieved in the text put to us by the Council.
Despite some important progress in the last few days, the European Parliament's concerns on the use of data have not been fully met. These are difficult, complex and sensitive matters - and by definition not everyone can be satisfied with the result. The Lisbon Treaty, agreed by 27 member state governments, has given MEPs a right of veto over international agreements of this kind. The same governments must accept that the European Parliament will use this power in a way which reflects its own assessment of the concerns of Europe's citizens
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