The World

The United States has discovered the European Parliament - and the experience is not particularly pleasant. Last February, the parliament blocked a measure that the the US regards as critical to global anti-terrorism efforts – and the Americans ae desperately trying to get parliamentarians to think again. This week Hillary Clinton met Jerzy Buzek, the president of the European Parliament. Next week, vice-president Joe Biden will give a speech to the parliament. Terrorist finance was not the only reason for these meetings. But it has certainly given a new focus and urgency to US efforts to understand and influence the European Parliament.

The specific issue is that America wants access to data about bank transfers by European citizens, using the Swift system. The Americans say – and some Europeans agree – that such data has been crucial to thwarting previous terrorist attacks. But the EP objected on civil liberties grounds. It is particularly annoyed by the idea of “bulk transfers” of data.

The Americans regard this problem as more than a minor irritation. In Washington this week, the issue came up several times in conversations with different US officials – who were very exercised about it. I’m not sure, however, that sending Biden to woo Europe is a great idea. His last high-profile foreign visit - to Israel – was hardly a roaring success. The man seems to have a knack of making things worse.

Meanwhile, it is dawning on the Americans that this spat about terror-finance could be the first of many difficult discussions with the European Parliament. Under the Lisbon Treaty, the parliament got co-decision rights over legislation affecting foreign policy – essentially the right to block measures and agreements that previously would have gone through on the say-so of European governments. The parliament is eager both to use its new powers and to take some popular, headline-grabbing stands. What better way than to stick it to the Americans?