European Commissioner for home affairs, Cecilia Malmström, welcomed the decision, which has been the subject of intense scrutiny by Members of the European Parliament.

"My intention is now to start exploratory talks with the US at the beginning of May and move quickly once the mandate is officially adopted," she says.

A previous provisional agreement between the EC and the US was rejected by MEPs in a vote in February.

MEPs have demanded proportionately in any agreement and called for the imposition of strict limitations on bulk data transfers and the right of legal redress for European citizens.

Malmström says the mandate includes "significant data protection guarantees such as a strict counter terrorism purpose limitation and appropriate redress mechanisms on a non-discriminatory basis".

The EU will also have the right to terminate the deal in the event of breach of any of the data protection safeguards, she adds.

"This matter is very urgent," stresses Malmström. "We know that there is a clear security gap since January of this year because TFTP (Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme) data stored in Europe are no longer made available to the US Treasury Department, so the aim is to arrive at a signed agreement as soon as possible, preferably before the end of June."