U.S. and German authorities have initialed an agreement under which Berlin and Washington will share fingerprints, personal data and DNA samples of people suspected of terrorist activities.
German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff initialed the deal Tuesday in Berlin.
German and U.S. lawmakers still must approve the agreement. If endorsed, the deal is to take effect by the end of the year.
The agreement comes six months after German authorities uncovered what they described as a plot to bomb U.S. personnel and military bases in that country. German prosecutors said three suspects attended training camps in Pakistan and were stockpiling chemicals to manufacture car bombs.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
