European ministers have agreed to give police access to some airline passenger data to combat terrorism.
At a meeting of Home Affairs Ministers concerns about privacy, that have plagued a similar agreement with the United States, were overcome.
The Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, who chaired the meeting said limiting access the data was no longer acceptable.
"I don't think the people of Europe would forgive us if information which could prevent an atrocity was sitting in files ... and simply not capable of being consulted by people who needed to have access to it to save lives," he said.
Ministers also rejected moves by France, Sweden and some other EU governments to require the information be wiped from computer records after just 24 hours, a proposal also intended to protect civil liberties.
Britain's Home Office minister Ms Caroline Flint had threatened a veto at today's lengthy session, calling the proposed restrictions incompatible with British law. "We must intelligently use our intelligence," she said in a statement. "It is right we make the most of information collected at our borders by making it available to immigration authorities and law enforcement agencies across the EU."
They also agreed to fines if airlines "fail to meet their obligations," and directed the EU head office to come up with a proposal for harmonising data collection rules across the EU by June.
The agreement came just before the European Parliament was to vote on a recommendation from the EU's head office to allow European airlines to share more extensive information with Washington for transatlantic flights.
A parliamentary committee last week condemned arrangements negotiated with the United States, saying they violated EU privacy law. The full Parliament was expected to follow suit today.
Washington has demanded airlines headed for the United States provide extensive passenger data - from credit card numbers to meal preferences - within 15 minutes of departure.
An EU-US agreement reached in December cuts the amount of data that can be collected, who can see it and how long it can be stored. The Commission maintains it is compatible with EU privacy laws.