Europe rejects US deal on bank data

The European Parliament on Thursday broadly rejected an agreement with the United States on sharing information about bank transfers that was aimed at tracking people suspected of being terrorists. The European Parliament rejected the agreement by a vote of 378 to 196, with 31 abstentions. The vote underlined differences between the United States and the European Union over how to balance personal privacy guarantees with concerns on national and international security. The agreement, rejected 378 to 196 with 31 abstentions, would have freed the United States from having to seek bank data on a country-by-country basis. It went into effect provisionally at the start of February and was to last nine months while a more permanent arrangement was sought. But many members of the Parliament complained that the agreement had failed to guarantee the privacy rights of European citizens.