Euro-MPs warned of 'security gap' if US data deal falls

(BRUSSELS) - The EU risks creating a "security gap" if the European parliament rejects a deal allowing US justice authorities access to data from interbank transfers, a European diplomat warned Tuesday.

"We'll have a situation where Europe does not have access to information that it has now. We think there will be a security gap" if lawmakers vote against the deal on Thursday, the diplomat said, on condition of anonymity.

The nine-month transatlantic data agreement allows for information from the interbank transfer system SWIFT to be used as a tool to identify potential criminals.

"It's very useful to have this information. It has helped us to track people down," the diplomat said, adding that "if the agreement falls, you lose oversight (over US use of data). In the current situation we have oversight."

The deal has been agreed by all 27 EU nations with the United States, which officials expect would return to old methods of getting hold of security data over which the Europeans would have no say.

But the parliament can block it, which could compromise transatlantic exchanges of data.

The assembly's primary concern is that personal information, possibly including data from electronic bank payments, could be transferred to US authorities and handed on to other governments.

A longer-term agreement must still be negotiated, and the assembly fears the interim deal may set precedents and tie EU hands in future negotiations.

A key parliament civil liberties committee voted against the deal last week, but officials say Thursday's vote in Strasbourg is on a knife-edge.

The assembly elected last June has important new powers in justice, police and immigration matters under the Lisbon Treaty of reforms, which entered force in December.

On Saturday, US National Security Advisor James Jones underlined that the deal has helped to save lives.

"This programme has safeguards. It protects privacy. It has prevented terrorist attacks and saved lives, including here in Europe," he said.

In a letter to the president of the European assembly, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised to cooperate with the parliament in negotiating a long-term accord, and send experts to help address the concerns of lawmakers.

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), based near Brussels, deals with trillions of dollars in global transactions daily between nearly 8,000 financial institutions.

In 2006, SWIFT admitted that it had provided US authorities with some personal data after the September 11, 2001 attacks for the purpose of fighting extremists but insisted it had done its utmost to protect privacy.