The European Parliament has blocked a key agreement that allows the United States to monitor Europeans’ bank transactions – angering Washington. .
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Top US officials – including Vice-President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner – had contacted MEPs in recent days to urge them to consider “the importance of this agreement to our mutual security”, the Associated Press news agency reported.
(Read more from news.bbc.co.uk)