A controversial anti-terrorism agreement that allows the United States to monitor suspect bank transfers from the European Union to the US can finally be applied following a key appointment, officials in Brussels said Friday, dpa reported.
The deal, which grants US access to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), a Europe-based private consortium which records financial transactions, entered into force on August 1, but could not be operational until the EU official was nominated.
"This person is responsible on an interim basis for the oversight and monitoring of financial payment messaging and related data," EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said in a statement.
The official - who was not named for security reasons - is already at work at the US Treasury in Washington, where SWIFT data are transferred and analysed, Malmstroem said.
He was chosen on a temporary basis, until the EU's commission, parliament and national governments agree on procedures to appoint a a permanent overseer.
Both the US and EU governments insist sharing SWIFT data is paramount for tracking down terrorists and terrorism financing.
But in return for its approval of the deal in July, the European Parliament insisted the process had to be monitored by an independent, EU-appointed official.
The European Parliament had torpedoed a previous version of the EU-US agreement in February, arguing that it contained insufficient guarantees.