The European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee has approved the revised five-year agreement allowing the U.S. access to international bank transfer data from Europe as part of criminal and terrorism investigations, European Voice reports. The committee voted today with 41 votes in favor, nine against and one abstention to recommend parliament give its support to the agreement when it votes on Thursday. Parliament's three largest groups have voiced support for the plan, the report states, but the Green Party has said it will vote against the deal, raising concerns it violates the EU's data protection laws. If the agreement is approved on Thursday, it will go into effect on August 1 as it has already been signed by the EU and U.S. (Registration may be required to access this story.)
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