EU Parliament Approves Deal With U.S. to Share Financial Data in Suspected Terrorist Cases

BRUSSELS -- The European Parliament on Thursday approved a long-awaited deal to share financial data with the U.S. in suspected terrorist cases, after Washington agreed to major concessions to allay concerns over privacy.

The agreement allows U.S. officials to request financial data from European banks if they suspect accounts are being used by people with terrorist links. Officials must provide European authorities with reasons for their suspicions, rectify inaccurate data and grant legal redress in U.S. courts if information is abused.

The agreement, which passed 484 votes to 109, will take effect Aug. 1. There were 12 abstentions.

The White House welcomed the decision, calling it an important counterterrorism tool that will makes citizens in the U.S. and Europe safer.

"The threat of terrorism faced by the United States and the European Union continues and, with this agreement, all of our citizens will be safer," President Barack Obama said in a statement in Washington. He said the U.S. program of tracking terrorists' funds has since 2001 yielded critical leads.

The accord is designed to head off disagreements between the U.S. and EU over where personal privacy takes precedence over security investigations. The European Parliament last year rejected extending an interim deal because it said there were not enough safeguards for civil liberties.

EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said she was relieved that the agreement passed so overwhelmingly.

"This means that we have advanced the level of trust with the United States," she said.

Reding spoke to The Associated Press by phone from Washington were she is meeting with officials in the Obama administration, including Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. She said she expected to discuss how to reach a broader agreement on data protection.