SWIFT: EU-US bank will be an "interim" one, says Jacques Barrot
24 July 2009
The new agreement with Washington would be only an interim one, because "the SWIFT system is changing", and this justifies negotiating a new agreement, "under the aegis of Lisbon"
Mr Barrot said he had found "a new climate" in the US during his March visit with a new administration determined "to avoid the excesses of the past in the fight against terrorism". The new agreement with Washington would be only an interim one because "the SWIFT system is changing" and this justifies negotiating a new agreement "under the aegis of Lisbon", he added.
The Commission "will request a negotiating mandate only after the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty" by all Member States, "so that, in particular, Parliament can co-decide". Meanwhile, "for these few months, we consider it desirable to negotiate an interim agreement. For would it be wise to suspend a surveillance that judge Brugière told this committee had prevented a number of attacks?” he asked.
In reply, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert (ALDE, NL) asked that documents relating to the current negotiations be made public. Before negotiating any international agreement the EU should itself establish an "acceptable" personal data protection system, added Sarah Ludford (ALDE, UK).
© European Parliament
