Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council. A European terrorist finance tracking system (EU TFTS)

During the negotiations preceding the conclusion of the EU-US TFTP Agreement, discussions took place on how best to protect personal data and respect fundamental rights in the context of this Agreement. It was argued by some parties that extracting data on European soil would limit the amount of data transferred to the U.S. and would therefore ensure a higher level of data protection guarantees. Some Member States saw an added value in developing an independent European system for tracking terrorist finance in the longer term.

The European Parliament asked the Council and the Commission to take all measures necessary to devise a durable, legally sound European solution to the issue of the extraction of requested data on European soil. The Council and the European Parliament, when agreeing to the EU-US TFTP, invited the Commission to submit, within one year of the date of entry into force of the Agreement, a legal and technical framework for extraction of data on EU territory and, within three years of the date of entry into force of the Agreement, to present a progress report on the development of an equivalent EU system. Furthermore, Article 11 of the EU-US TFTP Agreement states that during the course of the Agreement, the Commission will carry out a study into the possible introduction of an equivalent EU system allowing for a more targeted transfer of data.

For the purpose of this Communication an equivalent EU system should be distinguished from a framework for extraction of data on EU territory. A framework for extraction of data on EU territory is understood to be a system allowing searches on the data currently provided by the EU to the U.S., to be conducted on EU soil. By contrast, an equivalent EU system would be an independent European system for tracking terrorist finance through access to, searches on and analysis of the data of Designated Provider(s). The establishment of any EU system would require a modification of the EU-US TFTP Agreement.

The aim of this Communication is to inform the European Parliament and the Council of the outcome of the analysis made with regard to the feasibility of the establishment of European Finance Tracking System (EU TFTS).

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)842: Follow the progress of this communication through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:842:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2013)488: Impact assessment http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2013:488:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2013)489: Executive summary of the impact assessment http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2013:489:FIN

ESO: Background information: EU-US agreements: Commission reports on TFTP and PNR http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-eu-us-agreements-commission-reports-on-tftp-and-pnr/

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