This Thursday, European Union countries gave their "unanimous" support for a new EU agreement on the transfer of bank data to help fight terrorism jointly with the United States, after the European Parliament (EP) rejected an interim agreement this month.

"We want an agreement from all the countries in Europe rather than bilateral solutions", stated the Spanish Minister for Home Affairs, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, in a press conference following the first session of the European Union Justice and Home Affairs Council.

Rubalcaba, who chaired the meeting, said the USA "has understood" that the new agreement must include the safeguards proposed by the European Parliament concerning the infringement of fundamental rights. The agreement is known as SWIFT after the name of the international banking consortium.

The new SWIFT agreement must incorporate the restrictions and concerns expressed by the European Parliament, which Washington "is prepared to include" added Rubalcaba.

The European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmström, acknowledged that the interim agreement "was not perfect" and said that her intention is to achieve consensus on a new agreement "as quickly as possible" but that this should be "done properly".

Malmström announced yesterday that the European Commission (EC) is already preparing a negotiating mandate for a new SWIFT agreement, and that the text should be approved by both the EU Council and the European Parliament.

Meanwhile, the Spanish Minister for Home Affairs said he was "very pleased" that a security strategy for the EU had been approved and that a permanent committee would be set up in a month's time for operational cooperation in internal security matters, known as COSI.

Regarding the first item for discussion, the Spanish Minister referred to the hard work carried out over nearly a year to move forward this strategy aimed at "improving the work done by the police and the legal system" in order to guarantee the security of European citizens.

“It is a great document”, stressed Rubalcaba, who expressed his wish that this text would "be long-lasting" and bring coherence to a set of common policies.

The Ministers of Home Affairs also approved setting up the COSI, a permanent committee for operational cooperation in internal security matters, which, in addition to assessing strategy, is intended to improve the effectiveness and coordination of the security forces.

• Video: Highlights of the press conference following the Justice and Home Affairs Council in Brussels