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

UK Counter-terrorism chief quits after revealing confidential document to photographers

Britain's most senior counter-terrorism officer has resigned after making a security blunder which caused an anti-terror operation to be brought forward, the BBC report. Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick inadvertently revealed secret papers to photographers when arriving for a Downing Street briefing on Wednesday.

Continue reading here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7991307.stm

EU to launch biometric passports by summer

From euobserver.com

MEPs on Wednesday (14 January) backed new rules on the introduction of biometric passports throughout the EU later this year, while exempting children under 12 years from having fingerprints included in their passports.
The rules were approved at a first reading by an overwhelming majority of MEPs – 594 against 51, while 37 abstained.

The parliamentarians underlined the need to improve document security in the EU by introducing "more reliable biometric data, namely fingerprints," and highlighted the different criteria member states currently apply when checking the passport applicants' identity.

Continue reading here: http://euobserver.com/9/27407/?rk=1