The European Parliament has voted to suspend its SWIFT data exchange agreement with the US.
They’ve called for US access to the SWIFT database to be halted following concerns that the US is spying on the EU, and not simply trying to combat terrorism.
EU lawmakers suspect that the US has abused an agreement giving it limited access to SWIFT.
Excellent news
The US doesn’t need this information. It’s hoped some of the Governments will suspend the IGAs as well to allow public debate rather then voting in these things in the dead of the night when nobody is watching.
Wonderful…and about time!
Access to banking data by the U.S. may well be the Achilles’ heel of FATCA.
I would really like to know what this means. SWIFT accounts are used in bank wire transfers. Every banking office has a SWIFT account. If Europe is shutting out the US from access to the SWIFT system, will this cut out any bank wire transfers from the US to Europe? What is the effect of this?
@Greg
The EU is not shutting out the USA from access to the SWIFT system, but merely wants to stop providing the USA with financial transaction data pertaining to EU citizens. This handover of data began in 2010 or 2011 (justified by the “war on terrorism”…) and was very controversial from the start.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLWSC062N0c
The only one in EU who knows where to locate any testicles in Europé.
(notice that she has her pajama pants on again!!!)
“We have no reason anymore to trust the Americans on their blue eyes”. Very well said, Sophie. Suspicion about motives and mistrust of the US has now becoming mainstream. Wearing pj’s for pants won’t however. Let’s hope she and Don Cherry don’t ever have the opportunity to stand next to each other and cause a pattern explosion.
Along with this, Germany and France are just waking up to the limitless spying that the US is doing on their citizens, and especially their leaders. With the UK providing data on US citizens and others, and the US collecting it on everyone, no one has any claim to privacy any more. Interestingly when it was the Central and South American governments who complained, it was pretty much ignored in Europe. The Bloomberg headline this morning on the Merkel story was, essentially, what’s the big deal? Everybody is doing it. Not like the US-UK axis and, I guess, China.
“Need To Know
You messed with the wrong Merkel. The German government this morning summoned the American ambassador to Germany after reports that the United States may have monitored Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cell phone. This, after Die Merkel called President Barack Obama personally to condemn such practices as “completely unacceptable.” (What we wouldn’t give to have overheard that conversation! Oh… right.)
These are busy days for the US diplomatic corps: just Monday the ambassador to France got a summoning himself, in that case over allegations that the National Security Agency had recorded millions of phone calls by French citizens and spied on French diplomats for good measure (allegations, we should add, that the US intelligence chief says are not entirely true — but not entirely false, either). “Enough is enough,” one senior EU official is quoted as saying today. But is “enough” enough to push Europe into action against its ally across the pond? France wants the issue tabled at today’s EU summit in Brussels; if it’s not discussed on the record, you can bet it will be off it. Either way, we’re sure the NSA will know exactly what they’re saying.”
http://chatter.globalpost.com
A few years back the US demanded access to all SWIFT data (worldwide) and got it – and also got additional SWIFT servers located in US. It is not clear what this really means but if SWIFT data is to be denied to the US that would be a good turn of event although not directly related to FATCA. Hopefully this means that the tide on just turning over personal banking data without any need/proof/basis is turning.
I hope James can get interviewed again and make the connection between concerns of Swift Data spying and FATCA data spying…
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/10/24/330981/us-spies-other-nations-because-we-can/
Analyst: US spies on other nations ‘because we can’
Thu Oct 24, 2013 2:50AM GMT
An American foreign policy analyst says the US spying activities across the globe continues because its Western allies do not object to it, although they are also victimized.
“The [first] reason we do it is because we can. We believe that the rules of international conduct that we demand of others, do not apply to us,” said James Jatras, a former US Senate foreign policy analyst in a phone interview with Press TV on Wednesday.
Revelations of massive spying operations by the United States have triggered condemnations across Europe and Latin America.
Germany, France and several other countries have expressed concerns about US spying activities after former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden disclosed classified information about US surveillance programs.
France’s President Francois Hollande has demanded answers from his American counterpart Barack Obama about the US National Security Agency’s spying on French citizens.
Mexican interior minister has also ordered a major probe into reports of US electronic spying on Mexico’s current President Enrique Pena Nieto as well as his predecessor Felipe Calderon.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called US President Barack Obama on Wednesday after she learned that the NSA may have monitored her.
“Secondly, we don’t have allies, we have satellites. We have countries that we call allies but are allies insofar as they do what we tell them to do and the third thing is, it’s their own fault,” Jatras said.
Jatras believes that Western countries complain about Washington’s violation of international law but follow whatever they are told to by the US government.
“Right now the United States is imposing another law, called FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, which basically demands private financial institutions all over the world provide information to the IRS which is then provided to the NSA,” he said
“The same countries that are complaining about the NSA surveillance are then turning around and submitting to this diktat from Washington.”
Another letter to a Representative…
Dear Congressman Himes,
Still more revelations today coming out of Snowden indicating the extent to which the NSA has continued to lie to the American people, to our “allies” (will we have any left?), and more importantly to you, as a member of Congress charged with their oversight.
Now only has Angela Merkel voiced her anger directly to President Obama, but I’ve just been sent the following email from contacts at American Citizens Abroad:
European Parliament votes to suspend its SWIFT data exchange agreement with the US because of spying
This was based on a report on Euronews. Now couple this with the fiscal imperialism of the IRS through FATCA that is doing such harm to overseas Americans (and for what?), and realize that the “reciprocity” of the data exchanges simply provide the NSA with a Trojan Horse back door into the accounts of everyone in the world, and you simply have to wonder what has America become that we continue this massive assault on individual rights around the world?
Even George Orwell couldn’t have imagined such a scheme! And for what? When have you or your Congressional colleagues decided to permit the President of the United States and the Dept. of Homeland Security the right and power to shred not only the US Constitution but ever sense of decency that stood behind the symbol of what we call “America”?
I’m receiving reports DAILY from Americans overseas who are having their bank accounts, pension plans, and mortgages closed and called because of FATCA and now undoubtedly because of the NSA’s actions, too.
There is NO ONE – not inside America or outside America – who doesn’t believe that they are being spied on and that ALL members of Congress have simply been lied to or unwilling to rein in the NSA! This is worse than the Frank Church era that reined in the CIA.
The IRS are the NSA’s handmaidens in all of this. The provisions now in the Affordable Care Act that requires all Americans who sign up for this “benefit” also have to sign away ANY privacy to their medical records at all; the US government can share them at will with any other agency.
Is this the America you grew up in? It isn’t mine. Is this the America you want to see your children grow up in? It isn’t mine.
I implore you to STOP this embarrassment and reel in the NSA and IRS – and change the privacy laws for ACA – before we are all simply vassals of an uncontrolled and uncontrollable Federal apparatus where our representatives like you are powerless to stop them.
There is no doubt, for instance, that this email will be read by the NSA, too. Since our meeting in August, it is clear my computer is acting very strangely indeed.
Please start taking action to stop this madness!
Thank you for your consideration.
I wonder if James is also experiencing computer problems. He should after that!
EVERYBODY SPIES ON EVERYBODY, They just react when it comes to lite. They don’t stop spying they just promise to stop. Israel is our only friend in the Middle east and they need to know if we are planning anything not in their interest. We spy on them to always know if they plan anything bad for us.
The Russians have a town where everyone there appears to be American, customs, accents and even the food they eat. Most of them have been there since they were children, just waiting to be sent here so they can wait to be told what the Russians want from them. We catch a few of them and trade for ours who appear to be Russian. This has gone on since the Soviets sent sleepers here to subvert Capitalism to Socialism. Their Socialists sleepers have done a better job than our Capitalist sleepers. Ms. Merkle was raised in East Germany and is a master on spying and it serves our purpose for her to be angry. Hopefully she will tell the U.S. to take our FBAR and shove it up our FATCA. She’d be doing us a favor.
Spiegel Online…
‘Out of Hand’: Europe Furious Over US Spying Allegations
Maybe they should cancel their FATCA IGA…
and this on NPR this evening…
U.S. Spying Takes Center Stage At EU Summit
Praise the Lord !
I so hope that these exposures and reactions from around the world will cause sensible people in the US to cause their Government and Bureaucracy to reign in, reassess and amend their behavior.
@NervousInvestor
We can only hope Churchill’s quote will ring true:
“We can always count on the Americans to do the right thing, after they have exhausted all the other possibilities.”
@bubblebustin – Thank you for the quote. Winston Churchill had amazing insight ! I really hope that the Americans will live up to his expectations yet again.
@bubblebustin – Thank you for the quote. Winston Churchill had amazing insight ! I really hope that the Americans will live up to his expectations once more.
@bubblebusting…@NerousInvestor
I think Churchill’s quote is like Moores Law, eventually it is no longer applicable…
The Swiss parties are now reconsidering FATCA
http://bit.ly/1g9H7UW
From Google Translate: The UDC, she further increased the tone and proposes to suspend the application of FATCA agreement, which will require Swiss banks to pass by mid-2014 the United States data on their U.S. customers. The best, according to Hannes Germann, would be a coordinated action with the European states that have also yielded to U.S. demands in the folder. But Switzerland should not wait at all costs the European Union to act.
@Just Me
I did say “hope” 😉
I wish I could vote for MEP Sophie in’t Veld. Where is her counterpart here in Canada?
Anyone can put on a suit. Banksters wear them every day.
re the FATCAnatics, suits and credibility:
“…as through this world I’ve wandered
I’ve seen lots of funny men;
Some will rob you with a six-gun,
And some with a fountain pen.”
Woody Guthrie (Pretty Boy Floyd)
badger — that would be Blaze.