EU broadens probe into US spying on Swift banking data

European data-protection officials are broadening their investigation into the alleged transfer of personal banking details by the Swift banking cooperative in Belgium to U.S. authorities, the European Commission said Wednesday.

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Separately, the Belgian data-protection authority is expected to conclude its report into the affair in the coming weeks. Unlike the European officials, the Belgian authorities could impose sanctions on Swift, a banking industry payment-transfer organization.

"Recognising the seriousness of the questions that have been raised, the working party agreed to continue fact-finding and conduct further analysis based on all relevant factual and legal elements," the Commission said in a statement, referring to a working party of data-protection officials from around the European Union. The group met in Brussels Tuesday and Wednesday.

"The working party's priority is to safeguard European data protection rights," the Commission said.

The officials will conclude their investigation in November at their next meeting, the Commission said. If they find that European data protection laws have been violated they could propose that the Commission take legal action against Belgium for failing to uphold Union-wide laws.

In the statement, the Commission said the officials expressed "immediate concerns about the lack of transparency" surrounding the transfers, which began in secret shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S.

The transfers, which came to light in newspaper reports in June this year, have raised fears that Swift has abused European citizens’ privacy. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and other U.S. intelligence agencies allegedly demanded the information in order to trace terrorist financing activity.

The so-called Swift affair comes at a time of heightened tension between Europe and the U.S. over how to balance counter-terrorism needs and preserve citizens' civil liberties. Last month U.S. President George Bush admitted that terrorism suspects have been secretly detained in Europe, sparking an angry outcry among European civil liberties groups, politicians and newspapers.