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BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union approved a landmark data protection accord Thursday, ruling that an arrangement put in place by the United States known as ``safe harbor'' provides adequate protection for data transferred from the EU.

The EU's executive body, the Commission, adopted a second, similar decision concerning Switzerland and Hungary.

Frits Bolkestein, the EU's internal market commissioner, said the ``safe harbor'' accord with the United States was a very positive development.

``It provides a framework within which personal data transferred to the U.S. will be better protected, while at the same time making transfers simpler for both EU and U.S. business,'' Bolkestein said.

Bolkestein's spokesman, Jonathan Todd, said the measure would go into effect in November.

The safe harbor accord stems from an EU data-privacy law, passed Oct. 24, 1998 that gives EU member state regulators the right to halt certain information from being sent to countries that don't have adequate data protection.

The United States doesn't have similar data protection guidelines and relies mainly on a self-regulating system. The EU postponed the law's implementation during two years of negotiations and no trans-Atlantic data transfers were held up.

Under the safe-harbor arrangement, American companies that meet certain data protection standards would be regarded as in compliance with EU privacy concerns.

Consumer advocates worry that ``safe harbor'' is a sellout to corporate interests, saying it falls far short of laws currently on the books in many European countries.

There was some concern that the deal would fall through following opposition from the European Parliament and American business groups.

However, analysts said the Commission preferred to have an accord in place with the United States rather than risk the uncertainty of a halt in trans-Atlantic data transfers. Under the deal, the two sides can renegotiate aspects of the accord if there are implementation problems.