EU/US Bank data transfer deal reached

EUobserver.com reports today that EU justice ministers approved a provisional bank data transfer deal with the United States, allowing American anti-terrorist investigators to access European financial transaction data for another nine months.

The interim agreement had sparked controversy among European Greens and Liberals, who cited data privacy concerns and slammed member states for "rushing" to get the deal done before the European Parliament acquires more powers in this field. A day later, with the coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the legislature would have had a bigger say on the agreement.

Read the entire story here: http://euobserver.com/9/29072/?rk=1