European lawmakers rejected on Wednesday a US-EU accord on handing over air passengers' personal details to Washington in a show of hostility to American methods of fighting terrorism.
The European Parliament vote had no legal force, but sent a strong political message from the European Union's elected assembly and may force a reopening of negotiations.
Civil liberties concerns appeared to prevail over security considerations despite the deadly Madrid train bombings of March 11, which highlighted Europe's own vulnerability to Islamic militants.
Parliament condemned by 229 votes to 209 the controversial deal to hand over data such as credit card and phone numbers, which Washington demands to help spot potential terrorists but critics say may infringe EU citizens' rights.
"We have shown the Commission and the United States that the EU has its own voice," Johanna Boogerd-Quaak, who drafted the resolution against the deal, told Reuters.
"I hope that we can negotiate again on a new basis."
The vote comes a day after EU justice and interior ministers agreed to start collecting some of the same data on EU-bound air passengers, although less voraciously than the US system.
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