A legal cooperation deal between the European Union and the United States worked out in secret over the past year is due to be signed in the coming weeks.

In an effort to smooth cooperation between the two sides, the pact, which has been under negotiation by justice and home affairs ministers in the 15-member union since the summer, will replace bilateral agreements currently in effect between the United States and countries like Germany and Britain.

Officials on both sides of the Atlantic praised what is being seen as a shining example of cooperation in one of the few areas where Europe and the United States work together in harmony.

The Greek justice minister, presiding over the meeting of ministers on Friday, called the agreement "a step forward."

U.S. officials, already satisfied with anti-terror efforts in Europe, were also pleased with the decision.

EU wrangles option on extradition

The pact dictates closer cooperation on fronts such as mutual legal assistance and the exchange of banking information. The stickiest issue, extradition, was laid aside after European Union states won a clause from the U.S. allowing them to refuse to extradite a suspect who could face the death penalty.

EU states are signatories of the European Convention on Human Rights which outlaws the death penalty. The convention also prohibits any extradition deal that could lead to their citizens facing the death penalty, which is legal in the United States.

The issue has been a difficult one for both sides to iron out. Last year, France and Germany initially refused to hand over legal documents that U.S. prosecutors wanted to use in the prosecution of French citizen and suspected terrorist-cell member Zacarias Moussaoui. The two countries later agreed to release the documents.

Reaction is critical

During a meeting with European Commission President Roman Prodi last October, U.S. President George W. Bush included the extradition issue on a U.S. wish list.

Questions remain over a number of other issues, such as the status of suspected Taliban and al Qaeda fighters held prisoner on Guantanamo Bay.

The European Parliament joined human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Statewatch in criticizing the deal. Parliamentarians adopted a resolution this week stating that it was "paradoxical to sign an agreement with the United States when several European Union citizens are still being held at … Guantanamo Bay, quite unlawfully."