European Union (EU) justice ministers agreed today to begin talks with the United States to co-operate more closely on extradition and investigations.
"They have agreed on the mandate", one EU diplomat said during a meeting of ministers from the 15 states in Luxembourg.
The EU ministers are acting on a pledge made after September's terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
Any deal between the EU and the United States could lead to co-operating in interrogations using video conferencing across the Atlantic and working more closely on criminal and terrorist investigations.
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One EU official said the EU hoped to start talks with Washington as soon as possible and that a deal would be in place before the end of this year.