EU to push for revamped data transfer deal with U.S.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union will press ahead with efforts to revamp transfers of personal data to the United States after an EU court ruled on Tuesday that the current system was illegal, European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said. "We have been working with the U.S. authorities to make data transfers safer for European citizens. In the light of the ruling, we will continue this work towards a new and safe framework for the transfer of personal data across the Atlantic," Timmermans told a news conference. "We will come forward with clear guidance for national data protection authorities on how to deal with data transfer requests to the United States in the light of the ruling." The highest EU court ruled on Tuesday that the Safe Harbour deal that allows thousands of companies to transfer data from Europe to the United States is invalid in a landmark ruling that follows revelations of mass U.S. government snooping. (Reporting by Julia Fioretti and Philip Blenkinsop)