Europe extends antiterrorist data-sharing deal with US

The approval comes just a day before the Lisbon Treaty comes into effect, making major changes to the European Union's governmental structure that could eventually impact the program.

Under the extension, the U.S. Treasury will be able to continue to request specific data from SWIFT, a cooperative of 8,300 banking organizations that has a proprietary communications platform used to exchange financial data, according to information published by the Council of Ministers.

Since 2001, the U.S. Treasury Department has run the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program (TFTP), which analyzes financial transactions related to terrorism.

The U.S. conducted the program in secret until it was revealed in the media in 2006, igniting concerns over how the government was analyzing data from Europe. A significant portion of SWIFT data was stored in the U.S.

That will soon change when SWIFT brings online a new operating center in Switzerland. The U.S., however, still wants access to the data, which includes information on who is sending or receiving money, addresses, national ID numbers and other data.