The Swedish EU presidency and the EU Commission are now seeking a quick solution to the dispute over an agreement between the EU and the US on passing on bank data (Swift data) in the battle against terrorism.

For the daily Die Presse this is a further example of Washington not taking the EU seriously:

“On the other hand it’s mainly about the fact that Europe has once again failed to show some guts.

Just like with the dispute over finger-printing on entering the US, where there was a terrible verbal uproar – and that was the end of it.

Or with the plans to introduce a ten-dollar entry fee for entering the US: Brussels may be threatening to introduce visa requirements for US citizens as a countermeasure, but you can bet your boots this will never happen.

As far as Swift data is concerned Europe has every right to charge a heavy political price for such access, because since the 9/11 attacks the US has been using the pretext of national security to search through this data illegally.

… In Washington they only respond to tough politics.