The European Union signed an interim deal Monday allowing the United States to use trans-Atlantic air passenger data for anti-terror investigations.
Finland's Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, whose country holds the EU presidency, signed the agreement on behalf of the 25-nation bloc.
The signing marks the approval of all EU governments to the deal reached 10 days ago between EU and U.S. negotiators. However, all 25 nations still must have the agreement ratified by their parliaments, which the EU said should be completed by Wednesday.
The interim deal, which is valid until July 2007, replaces a 2004 air passenger privacy deal that the EU's high court voided last year for technical reasons.
Washington and Brussels hope to reach a permanent deal to replace the interim one sometime next year.
Under the deal, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will no longer have an automatic right to pull data from European airlines' computer systems, and must instead ask for such information.
Reaching a new deal had been an EU priority to ensure airlines could continue to legally submit 34 pieces of data about passengers flying from Europe to the United States. Such data - including passengers' names, addresses and credit card details - must be transferred to U.S. authorities within 15 minutes of a flight's departure for the United States.
Washington had warned that airlines failing to share passenger data faced fines of up to US$6,000 per passenger and the loss of landing rights.
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