Acrimony has raged for years over the US Terrorist Finance Tracking Program (TFTP), begun in the wake of 9/11, which gives American authorities access to EU bank account data carried over the international Swift network.

Last year a revised agreement was struck after the European Parliament secured privacy safeguards for its citizens and a promise from the EC for "a legal and technical framework for the extraction of data on EU territory" effectively creating a processing system precluding the need to transfer data in bulk to the US.

A European Terrorist Finance Tracking System (TFTS) "must contribute to limiting the amount of personal data transferred to the US" as well as help cut off access to funds for terrorists, says the EC.

According to Reuters, citing an unnamed Commission official, the European programme could actually go beyond Swift messages, examining data from money transfer companies and even card firms such as Visa and MasterCard.

Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmström, Commissioner, home affairs, says: "Given that these future proposals would need to fully respect fundamental rights, and in particular ensure a high level of data protection, I intend to pay close attention to the necessity and proportionality of any possible measures which may be proposed".